Thracian tribes. Thracian tribes Thracians ancestors

Thracian Tribes

Fig. 1 Thracian

General about the Thracians

The Thracians are an Indo-European tribe that lived in Thrace and the adjacent lands (currently - Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Northeastern Greece, the European and northwestern parts of Asian Turkey, eastern Serbia and part of Macedonia).
By the 5th century BC, the Thracians inhabited the northeast of the Balkans and the lands adjacent to the Black Sea from the west. Herodotus in the 5th book called them the second (after the Indians) in number in the known world, and potentially the most powerful in military terms - if they stop internal squabbles. In that era, the Thracians were divided into a large number of warring tribes, Xenophon colorfully told about their internal wars in his "Anabasis". However, the Thracians managed to create fragile states for some time, such as the Odrysian kingdom, the largest in Europe in the 5th century. BC e., and in Roman times: Dacia, led by Burebist.

Origin

Thracian tribes

Bizalts
Bitiny
Kikons
Ducky:
Apulites
Carpi
Kostoboki
Sukyi
Diy
Edona
Getae
Honeys
Flies
Satras
Finns
Grass
Triballa

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Thracian night attack, 400 BC
1. Thracian trumpeter.
2. Thracian equestrian bodyguard.

Not fully Thracian tribes:

Agathirs (Scythian-Thracian tribe)
Dardans (a tribe mixed of Thracians, Illyrians and possibly Peonians)

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Thracian peltasts, 400 BC

Thracian Territory

Initially, the Thracians occupied the territory up to the Adriatic Sea, but around the 13th century. BC NS. were driven east by the Illyrians.

The occupation of the Thracians

They were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding (mainly horse breeding), they had developed mining and metal processing, as well as ceramic production. In the early Iron Age (1st half of the 1st millennium BC), the Thracians were at the stage of decay of the primitive system, slavery existed.
The oldest monuments of Thracian art (late 2nd - early 1st millennium BC) include dolmens, ceramics of various shapes (including vessels of the Villanov culture), often with plastic decor in the form of flutes, "Bumps", etc.
The treasure of gold objects from Vylchitrin in northern Bulgaria is unique (vessels and lids for vessels, decorated with exquisite spiral ornaments inlaid with silver). The Basarabi culture in Romania (1st half of the 1st millennium BC) is characteristic of the Thracians - fortified and open settlements with wooden ground structures coated with clay; black polished ceramics (bowls, bowls, glasses) with fluted decor, as well as stamped and engraved geometric patterns with white inlay, revealing a connection with the culture of local tribes of the Bronze Age.
In the 6th and 5th centuries. BC NS. the art of the Thracians came into contact with the culture of the Scythians. The animal style of the Thracians, flourishing in the 6th and 3rd centuries. BC e., is distinguished by local features (gold, silver and bronze plates and helmets with generalized naively expressive images of birds, animals, horsemen, scenes of animal fighting, usually covered with a pattern in the form of circles, dots, strokes).
From the 5th century. BC NS. the Thracians were experiencing the increasing impact of the ancient Greek civilization.

By the 4th – 3rd centuries. BC NS. includes the construction of the Thracian city of Sevtopol, the creation of numerous monuments of Greco-Thracian art, which are among the masterpieces of ancient artistic culture (Kazanlak tomb, a treasure of golden vessels from Panagyurishte, etc.). At the turn of the 1st century. BC NS. - 1 c. n. NS. Dacian tribes are building a system of fortresses in the mountains of Transylvania - Gradishta-Munchelului, Piatra-Rosie, Blidarul, etc.
The era of the Roman conquest includes silver, bronze and iron funeral helmets with masks, distinguished by vivid physiognomic expressiveness and perfection of technical performance, figurines and steles with a relief image of the so-called. Thracian horseman, grave portraits, statues, vessels made of gold, bronze, glass.

Figure 3.1 Thracian Helmet ( Thracian)

The Thracian helmet was discovered in1997 in Pletena, western Rhodope mountains. The helmet is dated to the first half of the 4th century BC.21 "Thracian" helmets have been found in the territory of the Ancient Thracian tribes.

Figure 3.2

Silver helmet belonging to the North Thracian

Figure 3.3

The golden helmet was found in the tomb of the Geth king on the territory of Romania.

The military glory of the ancient Thracians is witnessed by the bronze sword that has turned green from time to time.
The fishtail handle is wrapped in a narrow gold ribbon. The reversible blade is decorated with a clear pattern. All this indicates the high status of the owner of the sword.

Figure 3.2

Helmets. Left: iron, leather, high. 31 cm, width. 27.2 cm. IV c. BC NS.
Middle: bronze, high. 39.5 cm wide 20.7 cm. Casting, forging, soldering, riveting, engraving. IV century. BC NS.
Right: Illyrian type, bronze, high. 27 cm. Casting, forging. VI-V centuries. BC NS.
Bottom: sword. Bronze, gold, length 69.5 cm. Casting, forging, riveting, engraving. X-IX centuries BC.

Of the three combat helmets, the most interesting in shape is the middle, Thracian-Phrygian type. The helmet is adorned with palmettes on both sides at the top, and snakes coiled into a ball below. Dragon snakes were designed to protect the owner and help him in battle. The cheeks depict a beard and mustache.
On the left is a helmet made of many iron scales, attached to a leather base. Chain mail was done in the same way.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium AD NS. Thracian art is gradually declining, acquiring a provincial-Roman character.
Even in Homer's time, the Thracians were known as farmers and cattle breeders. The Thracian mines, weapons, war chariots were famous

Figure 3.4

Thracian armor

The Thracians traded in grain, wine, honey, socks, horses, leather, ceramics, fish, and fabrics.
The basis of the economic development of Thracian society in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. NS. was the mastery of iron metallurgy, which led to major shifts in the economy and social structure. Development proceeded in slightly different ways to the north of the Balkan Mountains, where the climate was more severe, and to the south of them. In the south-west of Thrace, near the ore deposits, there were also the main metallurgical centers. The craft became more and more specialized. Found workshops already working on the market. Marketplaces appeared near cult places (for example, near Filippoiol - the Thracian Pulpudeva, modern Plovdiv). Trade routes connected the Thracians with their neighbors. Thracian society flourished in the 5th-4th centuries. BC NS. Agriculture finally became arable land, based on the use of iron plowshares. They sowed wheat, rye, barley, millet, flax. hemp, cultivated hail-wine, fruits, vegetables. Sheep and horse breeding achieved great development.
From the VIII to the end of the VII century. BC NS. the so-called great Greek colonization took place, which also captured the Thracian regions from the Gulf of Thessaloniki to the mouth of the Danube. Cities (policies) such as Byzantium (from 330 AD Constantinople, modern Istanbul) were founded. Salmides (Media). Apollonia (Sozopol), Ankhial (Pomorie), Mesambria (Messembria. Mesimvria, Nessebar), Odessa (Varna), Dionisopolis (Balchik), Kalatns (Mangalia), Tomi (Constanta), Istros (Istria). The social structure of the polis-colonies (democratic, aristocratic) corresponded to the order in the polis-metropolises. Initially, hostile relations with the Greek cities were replaced by peaceful ones. A synthesis zone was formed on the coast: the Thracians penetrated the cities, obtaining the rights of citizenship and promoting the spread of the Thracian culture, the Greek influence, in turn, covered the nearby area, causing the gradual Hellenization of the Thracians who lived here. Relations with the Greek colonies accelerated the development of Thracian society.
The Thracian tribal aristocracy grew stronger by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. The exploitation of free community members became regular. The community was transformed into a territorial, neighborly community, and the commune member's right of ownership to arable land was established. Property differentiation led to the impoverishment of a part of the communes who fell into dependence. The tribal unions were of a military-democratic character and fought stubbornly with each other. Military-political and religious centers arose. Large settlements grew around the dwellings of the leaders, and then fortified cities, such as, for example, Uskudum (Adrianople, Edir-ne) on the Maritsa and Kabila in the upper reaches of the Tunja, founded by the Odrizes. From the VI century. BC NS. money exchange came to replace natural. Greek and Persian coins poured; Thracian kings also minted their coins in Greek workshops.
The Thracian allied-tribal aristocracy gradually became slave-owning. Slaves were used in cattle breeding, in mines, as servants. But the main role was still played by free members of the community. Slaves were often sold to Greek policies. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. the formation of states began.

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Attack on the fortification of the Tribals, 424 BC

At first, several state associations arose between Struma and Vardar, along the coast of the Aegean Sea and in Thrace, among which the Odrisian were the strongest. Education at the turn of the VI-V centuries. BC NS. The vast Odrysian state was facilitated by the general danger from the Persians - the troops of Darius marched across the lands of the Thracians in 514-513. BC NS. against the Scythians, and then the troops of the Persians during the Greco-Persian wars. The Odriz state covered almost all modern Bulgarian lands in the west and went beyond them in the northeast and southeast. Most of the Greek colonial cities, especially on the Black Sea coast, recognized the sovereignty of the Odrysian kingdom. The Odrisian state maintained relations with the Greek city-states (especially Athens) and with the Scythians. It reached its highest flowering in the 5th century. BC NS.

From the VI-V centuries. BC NS. Thracian lands entered the area of ​​influence of Greek culture, which, however, only slightly affected the rural territory. The life of the peasant remained poor. The lifestyle of the nobility undergoing Hellenization underwent drastic changes. The construction art of the Greeks was introduced in the cities: planning, plumbing, sewerage, colonnades, statues, and bas-reliefs. A lot of Greek things and works of art were imported. Import satisfied primarily the needs of the nobility. The colonial cities developed mainly within the framework of Greek culture.

However, the Thracian culture and art itself continued to develop. The cults of the Thracian gods and goddesses were preserved. The main role was played by the cult of the sun, the belief in the immortality of the soul was widespread, there was a cult of the rebirth of nature - all these beliefs were reflected in the funeral ritual. Worshiping the gods, the Thracians made sacrifices, usually bloody, occasionally sacrificing people. The purpose of the sacrifices was the desire to achieve a harvest, fertility. Often the dog was the sacrificial animal. The cult of the so-called Thracian horseman (horseman) was very popular: up to one and a half thousand images of a horseman were found in 350 geographical points in Bulgaria. The cult of Dionysus was also revered. The festivities in honor of the fairytale god-singer Orpheus and Dionysus were of an orgic character.

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Thracian uprising, 26 AD

Much about the art of the Thracians is known from the necropolises. There were discovered masterpieces of jewelry art - zoomorphic jewelry made of gold and bronze. Thracian art flourished in the 4th - early 3rd centuries. The famous Kazanlak tomb belongs to that era. Her colored paintings tell not only about the cult of the dead, but also about the way of life and customs of the living. The Panagyurishti gold treasure of highly artistic sacred objects is also famous (disc, kushvin, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic rhytons - symbols of power). The products are full of local flavor, although they are focused on the best Greek and Persian examples. In other words, as before, the culture of the Eastern Balkans served as a bridge between Europe and Asia.

The Kazanlak tomb and other masterpieces are not purely Thracian monuments: they represented a synthesis of Greco-Thracian art. But the Thracians also had a serious impact on Greek culture. The Thracian deities Ares and Dionysus were widespread in the Greek world. The cult of Dionysus is involved in the formation of Greek tragedy and comedy. The Greeks revered Orpheus no less than the Thracians. There was not a single people whose cultural influence on the Greeks was comparable to the Thracian.

Military - political life of the Thracians

The process of class formation was especially intense among the southeastern group of Thracians - Odrys. In the middle of the 4th century. BC NS. the Thracians, together with the Peonians, entered into an alliance with the Illyrians against the Macedonian independence that threatened them.

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Thracian invasion of Macedonia, 429 BC

In 342, the tribes of southern Thrace were conquered by Philip II. From 323 to 281 they were under the rule of Lysimachus, after whose death they regained their independence. From the end of the 3rd century. BC NS. The Thracian coast of the Aegean Sea was conquered by the Ptolemies, and then conquered by the Macedonian king Philip V.

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1. Geth noble warrior.
2. Geth horse archer

After the 3rd Macedonian War (171–168 BC) the Thracians came out of Macedonian rule. At the beginning of the 1st century. BC NS. were in alliance with Mithridates VI Eupator, after his defeat in the 3rd Mithridates war (74-63 BC) they were in the sphere of influence of the Romans, against whom they fought stubbornly.
In 60-45 BC. NS. the North Thracian tribes were united by the ruler of the Dacians, Berebistaya. In the 1st century. n. NS. a large association of the North Thracian tribes arose, in which the leading role belonged to the Ghetto-Dacians.

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Skirmish at Kallinikos, 171 BC

Under the Roman emperors Julius-Claudius (1st century), the main territory of Thrace was turned into a Roman province. The Geto-Dacian region was conquered and became a Roman province under Trajan in 106, but was virtually lost under Aurelian by the Romans.
During the Great Migration of Peoples, the Thracians mixed with other tribes and became an ethnically integral element in the formation of modern peoples (Bulgarians, Romanians, and Moldovans, etc.).
The Odris state proved to be fragile. Signs of its disintegration became apparent by the middle of the 4th century. BC NS. The crisis of the slave-owning Greek polis created the conditions for a new state unification of the Thracians, but this was prevented by the expansion of the Macedonian kings.
The center of the Macedonian state lay in the upper reaches of the Bistritsa. Already in the 1st century. BC NS. this kingdom played a large role in the Peloponnesian wars, and in the IV century. became the hegemon in the Balkans. In its structure, it was similar to the classically slaveholding, but with noticeable vestiges of primitive communal relations. The tsar's power became monarchist in the first half of the 4th century. BC NS. In culture, especially in the culture of the upper social stratum, the Macedonian kingdom was close to the Greek states. Who came to power in 359 BC. NS. Philip II 342-339 put an end to the Odrysian kingdom. However, the Macedonian state was short-lived: after the death of Alexander in 323 BC. NS. his vast state collapsed.

In the III century. BC NS. on the territory of the Thracians, the struggle of the Diadochi, the successors of Alexander, unfolded. However, the Odrizs retained their independence in the coastal regions in 212-211. BC I. freed, expelling the Macedonian garrisons. However, the strengthening of the Thracian kingdom was prevented by protracted (until the beginning of the 2nd century BC) wars with Greek cities. Local dynasties appeared. Political instability was exacerbated by the decline of the economy and trade.

Archeology

During the 2000s, archaeologists have been excavating in central Bulgaria and dubbed this area as the "Alley of the Thracian Kings". On August 19, 2005, some archaeologists reported that they discovered the capital of Thrace near the modern city of Karlovo, Bulgaria. The many smooth fragments of pottery (pieces of roof tiles and Greek vases) found during excavations speak of the wealth of the city's inhabitants. The Bulgarian Minister of Culture announced his support for further excavations.

Fig. 9

The plot is about the Thracian women who tore the singer Orpheus to pieces. Canfar engraving. Silver, gilding. Attic workshop. V century BC NS.

Fig. 10

Balsamarium in the form of a bear. Bronze, high 16.9 cm. Casting, add. treatment. II - III c. n. NS.

The Thracian masters of toreutics (the art of metalworking) did everything from a button to an elegant vase. From simple casting and use of dies and seals to embossing and engraving.
Time destroyed almost everything created by the Thracians, but least of all it has power over metal. At the exhibition you can see what the Thracians needed for life both here and “there”. But this division, as we shall see, is very conditional.

Thracian treasures found in the Rogozen treasure in Bulgaria

Records about the Thracians

The first mentions of the Thracians in the literature date back to the time of the Trojan War in the 13th century. BC NS. (Homer, The Iliad).
The records of the Thracians in the Iliad tell mainly about the Hellespont, and about the Kikona tribe, which fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, Book II). From the Thracians, to their neighbors, the Greeks passed on many mythical creatures, such as the god Dionysus, the princess Europa and the hero Orpheus.
In the seventh book of his stories, Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting the Persians:
The Thracians wore fox hats on their heads during the campaign. On the body, they wore tunics, and on top - variegated burnuses. On their legs and knees they wore reindeer skin wraps. They were armed with droshky, slings and small daggers. After moving to Asia, this tribe received the name of the Bithynians, and before, according to their own words, they were called Strimonians, since they lived on Strimon. The Tevkras and Miaians are said to have expelled them from their habitats. The head of the Asian Thracians was Bassak, the son of Artaban.
In his fifth book, Herodotus describes the customs of the Thracian tribes:
The tribes living north of the Crusaders have the following custom. When someone from the tribe dies, his wives (and they all have many wives) start a heated argument (with the zealous participation of friends): which of them the deceased husband loved most. Having resolved the dispute, men and women shower their chosen spouse with praise and the closest relatives stab her at the grave and then bury her with her husband. The rest of the wives are deeply grieved that the choice fell not on them: after all, this is the greatest shame for them. The customs of other Thracians are as follows: they sell their children to a foreign land. They do not keep girls' chastity, allowing them to have intercourse with any man. On the contrary, the loyalty of married women is strictly observed and they buy themselves wives from their parents for a lot of money. A tattoo on the body is considered a sign of nobility. Whoever does not have it, he does not belong to the noble. A person who spends time in idleness enjoys great honor among them. On the contrary, they treat the farmer with the greatest contempt. They consider the life of a warrior and a robber to be the most honorable. These are their most remarkable customs. The Thracians honor only three gods: Ares, Dionysus and Artemis. And their kings (unlike the rest of the people) most of all the gods revere Hermes and swear only to him. According to them, they themselves descended from Hermes. The burial rites of the rich Thracians are as follows. The body of the deceased is exposed for three days. At the same time, sacrificial animals of all kinds are slaughtered and after the funeral cries they arrange a funeral feast. Then the body is burned or in some other way buried and, having poured a mound, they arrange various competitions. The highest awards are assigned for single combat, depending on the importance of the competition. These are the burial customs of the Thracians.
Josephus Flavius ​​claimed that the seventh son of Japheth, Tiras, was the ancestor of the Thracians. He also argued that the Thracians were originally called Tirasians, but then the Greeks renamed them.

Famous Thracians

Fig. 12
Burebista- King of the Geto-Dacians, who subjugated a huge Thracian territory from modern Moravia in the west to the Bug River in the east, from the Carpathians in the north, to Dionysopolis (modern Balchik) in the south.

Fig. 13
Decebal- the great king of the Geto-Dacians, who won many battles with the Romans, but was defeated by Trajan's army.

Fig. 14
Orpheus- in ancient Greek mythology, a singer, musician on the lyre. He played an important role in the religions of Greece and Bulgaria.

Fig. 15
Spartacus- Roman gladiator who revolted in the Apennine Peninsula in 73-71 BC. His army, made up mostly of escaped gladiators and slaves, defeated several Roman legions in a war known as the Third Slave War or the Spartacus Revolt.

Thracian language

They spoke the Thracian language, which most authors classify as Indo-European.
Extinction of the Thracians and their language
The Thracian language is a dead Indo-European language of the Thracians, included in the so-called Paleo-Balkan languages. It was widespread in ancient Thrace, an area in southeastern Europe (in the place of modern Bulgaria, Macedonia, European Turkey, partly in Romania (Dobrudzha), Greece and Serbia), as well as in some regions of Asia Minor. Sometimes the Dacian (Getan) language is also considered close to the Thracian language.
Preserved as a series of glosses in ancient Greek sources. In addition, several extremely brief inscriptions have been found. Although the Indo-European character of the language and its approximate position among other Indo-European languages ​​are obvious from the glosses and inscriptions, the grammar of the Thracian language still cannot be reconstructed.
Sometimes words of obscure etymology from the Bulgarian and Romanian and Moldavian languages ​​are also ranked as Thracian. The attitude of the modern Albanian language to the Thracian language is controversial - according to some scholars, it comes from the Illyrian language with insignificant Thracian influence, according to others - from the Thracian language.

Lettering
Interpretations of the inscriptions are still controversial and mutually exclusive, therefore only their texts are given here. All inscriptions are made in the standard Greek alphabet.

1. An inscription on a gold ring, discovered near the town of Ezerovo, Bulgaria in 1912. Dates back to around the 5th century BC. NS.
ΡΟΛΙΣΤΕΝΕΑΣΝ / ΕΡΕΝΕΑΤΙΛ / ΤΕΑΝΗΣΚΟΑ / ΡΑΖΕΑΔΟΜ / ΕΑΝΤΙΛΕΖΥ / ΠΤΑΜΙΗΕ / ΡΑΖ / ΗΛΤΑ
rolisteneasn / ereneatil / teanēskoa / razeadom / eantilezu / ptamiēe / raz / ēlta

2. An inscription on a stone (grave stone?), Discovered near the village of Kjolmen, Preslavsky district, Bulgaria in 1965. Age - about VI century BC NS.
ΕΒΑΡ. ΖΕΣΑΣΝ ΗΝΕΤΕΣΑ ΙΓΕΚ.Α / ΝΒΛΑΒΑΗΕΓΝ / ΝΥΑΣΝΛΕΤΕΔΝΥΕΔΝΕΙΝΔΑΚΑΤΡ.Σ
ebar. zesasn ēnetesa igek. a / nblabaēgn / nuasnletednuedneindakatr.s

3. An inscription on the ring, found in the village of Duvanli, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria, at the left hand of a skeleton in a burial. Dates back to around the 5th century BC. NS. The ring depicts a rider around which this inscription goes.
ΗΖΙΗ ….. ΔΕΛΕ / ΜΕΖΗΝΑΙ
ēziē… .. dele / mezēnai
ΜΕΖΗΝΑΙ - apparently, the Messapian deity of Menzana, to whom horses were dedicated.
Several very brief inscriptions have also been found on vessels and other artifacts.
In a Latin inscription from Rome, which refers to a Roman citizen from Thrace, the phrase Midne potelense is found;
the word midne is juxtaposed with the Latvian mitne (dwelling) and is interpreted as “village”. On this basis, the Bulgarian linguist I. Duridanov found other Baltic parallels for the Thracian glosses, but many of his comparisons were criticized.
The Thracian language apparently disappeared around the 5th century AD. NS. as a result of the Great Migration and the collapse of the Roman Empire. The lands of the former Roman province of Thrace were partly captured by the Slavs, partly transferred to Byzantium.
Ultimately, most of the Thracians adopted Greek (in the Thrace region) and Roman culture (Moesia, Dacia, etc.) and, in fact, became subjects of these states. However, small groups of Thracians existed even before the migration of the Slavs to the Balkans in the 6th century AD, so theoretically, some of the Thracians could become Slavs.

The Thracians are the ancestors of modern Romanians, Moldovans and Bulgarians. But to be more precise - historical predecessors. It would seem a lot is known about the Thracians. These are the immediate neighbors and rivals of the ancient Greeks. Moreover, the "mounted", that is, unlike the Hellenes and the ancient Romans, they fought on horseback. Moreover, without stirrups! This means that their legs were naturally short, strong and crooked. And you need to practice horse riding from childhood: archery at full gallop, fencing and the tactics of equestrian attack and counter-attack in itself, formation - all this requires professionalism.
A common delusion that is imposed by Marxist-Leninist history is the idea of ​​ancient peoples as a kind of monolith in culture, language, customs and way of life. But a successful plowman cannot be a skillful cavalryman. More often complex communities with intertribal division of labor develop in complex landscapes rich in natural resources (forest-steppe, foothills, banks of large rivers, lakes and seas).

It is known about the Thracians that from ancient times the artisans of the Celts penetrated their environment. The Proto-Slavic element, common with our forest-steppe lands of Ukraine and Russia, is probably the descendants of the people of the Trypillian archaeological culture. It is known that in the Bronze Age the Trypillians on the territory between the Dnieper and the Don lost their special culture under the influence of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes who mastered horse riding.
It must be assumed that the Trypillians in Thrace also fell under control, or rather under protection, and the mutually beneficial division of labor (war separately, farming separately) with the Aryan tribes of horsemen. The caste system was observed in ancient societies very strictly, but it was often incomprehensible to ancient Greek and Roman authors, since it was not founded in southeastern and central Europe on slavery. However, the “Kurgan culture” in many countries is clearly not associated with the majority of the local indigenous population.

Free farmers, thanks to the rich land and the protection of the riders, produced an enormous surplus of grain. Their economy also retained a powerful appropriating fishing economy, collection and processing of the gifts of nature, hunting, fishing, and so on.
Next, we present the article, you can discuss it in the comments.

Proto-Slavic roots of the culture of the ancient Thracians.

The culture, religion, customs of the Thracians were formed in close intertwining with the Scythian, Greek and Macedonian culture and traditions.

After the invasion of the Sarmatians in the 2nd millennium BC. e, numerous tribes of Skolots (Scythian farmers) moved to Thrace. Strabo reports: “ A lot of people from Scythia Minor crossed Tiras and Istria and settled in that country (Thrace). A significant part of Thrace in the Balkans was called Lesser Scythia.».

In the II millennium BC, the Thracian tribes occupied vast territories from the Adriatic to the Black Sea (Pontus). The area in Asia Minor near Troy was inhabited by ethnic Thracian tribes, natives of Thrace (Bulgaria).

Pliny's description of the lands beyond the Danube says: “ Thrace on one side starts from the bank of the Pontus, where the river Istres (Danube) flows into it. In this part, the most beautiful cities: Istropol, founded by the Milesians, Toma, Callatia (formerly called Kerbatira). Here also lay Heraclea and Bison, swallowed up by the open earth. Now there remains Dionysopolis, formerly called Kroon. The Zira River flows here. This entire area was occupied by the Scythians, called plowmen. They had cities: Aphrodisias, Libist, Siegera, Rocoba, Eumenia, Parfonopolis and Gerania».

The ancient culture, religion and mythology of the Thracians in the Balkans was adopted by the Hellenic Greeks. The Thracian myths about Dionysus, Ares, about Europe, the daughter of the Phoenician king, about Orpheus, who, according to legend, was the king of the Thracians, became Greek myths. In his 5th book, Herodotus writes: “ The Thracians honor only three gods: Ares, Dionysus and Artemis. And their kings (unlike the rest of the people) most of all the gods revere Hermes and swear only to him. According to them, they themselves descended from Hermes. The burial rites of the rich Thracians are as follows. The body of the deceased is exposed for three days. At the same time, sacrificial animals of all kinds are slaughtered and after the funeral cries they arrange a funeral feast. Then the body is burned or otherwise buried by pouring mound… »

Herodotus, describing the military equipment of the Thracians fighting the Persians, writes:

« The Thracians wore fox hats on their heads during the campaign. On the body, they wore tunics, and on top - variegated burnuses. On their legs and knees they wore reindeer skin wraps. They were armed with darts, slings and small daggers "(History, VII, 75).

The Thracians let go of the mustache and beard, and preferred to collect the hair on the head on the crown.

According to modern genetics, the Thracians were carriers of the "Indo-European" haplogroup R1a.

The first Thracian state in the Balkans was formed in the 5th century BC - the Odrysian state. The king of the Thracian Odris tribe, Tiras, united all the Thracian tribes that were not homogeneous in ethnic composition - Proto-Slavic, Celtic, etc.

Describing the Thracians, the Greek philosopher Xenophanes reports that outwardly the Thracians are different from the Greeks. The Thracians had blonde hair and blue eyes, that is how the Thracians and their gods represented.
« All Ethiopians think of the gods black and snub-nosed,
Thracians think of them as blue-eyed and fair-haired ...«

The Thracian king Tiras married his daughter to the Scythian king Ariapith (Herodotus, IV, 80), so a political union of peace and kinship of the Thracian kings dynasty with the Scythians of the Black Sea region arose. After the death of King Tiras, Thrace was ruled by his son Sitalk.

In the 6th century BC, the Odris king Tiras and his son Sitalku managed to expand the possessions of the Thracian kingdom from the city of Abdera on the coast of the Aegean Sea to the mouth of the river Istres (Histria - Danube) on the coast of the Black Sea. In 360 BC. The Odrysian kingdom fell apart.

In a burial mound near Plovdiv, a golden ring of one of the Odrysian rulers was found, on which the name Skifodok was engraved.

Josephus Flavius ​​cites the self-name of the Thracians - Tirasians, descending from Tiras, the seventh son of Iapetus (Japheth), who is considered the common progenitor of all Indo-Europeans. In ancient times, the Dniester River was called Tiras, hence the modern name of the city - Tiraspol.

The root of the word "tir" makes the name of Tiras related to the mythical Scythian king Targitay (Ταργιταος), the progenitor of the Scythian tribes. According to legend, the Scythian king Targitai was the son of Hercules from the horned Serpentine Goddess, the daughter of the Borisfen River (Dnieper). The name Tagitai is Tarkha-Tsar, that is, "Bull-Tsar", the image of a bull, in Latin the word "tayros" - "bull".

The territory of Macedonia (Greece), Dacia (Romania), Bithynia (northwestern Anatolia), Mizia (northwestern Anatolia) was also inhabited by Thracian tribes who adopted the Hellenic culture. In 336 BC. Alexander the Great undertook a campaign against Thrace and subordinated it to his rule, leaving power in the localities to the Thracian princes.

In 46 BC, the Thracian kingdom fell under Roman rule, and became a province of Rome. The Romans divided Thrace into 33 administrative units (strategies), which were named after the names of the old Thracian tribes.

The Roman ruler Agrippa gained control of Thrace, and under Augustus, all of Thrace became a province of the Roman Empire. Namely, in the 1st century, the mass exodus of the Thracians from Thrace begins. The Thracians suddenly disappeared from the geographical map of the Balkans. The Thracians moved from these places, this fact is confirmed by the Roman occupation of these territories, the dominance of the Romans in these lands. In the Thracian burial mounds on the territory of the Dnieper region, archaeologists find many Roman coins of the 1st century AD.

Many skolots - "Thracians" returned to their former lands in Scythia, reviving its agriculture and cities. Antique author of the 2nd century. n. NS. Ptolemy reports about 6 cities on the Dnieper: Sar, Olbia (Borisfen), Azagarius, Serim, Metropol, Amadoca. In ancient sources there is a legend about the Thracian king Amadoc the First, who ruled the Odrysian state in 410-390.

After the death of Alexander the Great and the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Thracian Odris prince Sevf III (324-311 BC) restored the independence of Thrace. Odris Prince Sevf III issued his silver coin in Thrace. The Roman general Lysimachus in 301 BC burned the capital of the Thracian king Sevf - the city of Sevfopolis.

In ancient Greece, the Thracians, as well as the Scythians, were legendary as about brave warriors who possessed innumerable golden treasures. The legendary Roman gladiator Spartacus is often referred to as the Thracians or Scythians. The historian Blades reads the Scythian name Pardokas (Παρδοκας) as Spardokas - Σπαρδοκας or Spardakos -Σπαρδακος, identical to the Latin name Spartacus - Spartacus - Spartacus.

The Thracians living on the shores of the Black Sea, like the Black Sea Scythians, were fair-haired and blue-eyed, wore mustaches and beards. The hair on the head, both Scythians and Thracians, was collected on the crown, in order to make it convenient to wear a shaggy fox cap or a small pointed cap ("Thracian cap"), a similar cap was worn by the Scythians (in the Old Russian language - " skufia "- pointed cap; in Greek - skouphia, in Greek skyphos -" cup "), the Thracian battle helmet repeats the shape of the cap. The clothes and footwear of the Thracians and the Black Sea Scythians were made of leather and fur. When the king of the Scythians died, his wife, horse and servants were burned with him, their remains were buried in a stone tomb covered with earth (mound) together with her husband, the Thracians had the same custom.

According to modern genetics, the Thracians were carriers of the Indo-European haplogroup R1a, respectively, the origins of the now non-existent Thracian language should be sought in the Indo-European language group. The ancient Thracians, like the Skolots (Scythians), spoke one of the dialects of the Proto-Slavic language, which the Hellenes did not know.

Sources of information about the Thracian language are extremely scarce:

1. Glossy in the works of ancient and Byzantine authors (23 words).

2. Thracian inscriptions, of which four are the most valuable, the remaining 20 short inscriptions were found on the island of Samothrace. The longest inscription in the Thracian language, found in 1912 near the village of Jezero in Bulgaria, dates from the 5th century BC. NS. It is carved into a gold ring and contains 8 lines (61 letters).

3. In the Thracian language there were words - bebrus - "beaver", berga (s) - coast, "hill", berza (s) - "birch", esvas (ezvas) - "horse", ketri - "four", rudas - ore, red, svit - suite, "to shine", udra (s) "otter", etc.

4. About the stay of the ancient Thracians in the Balkans, first of all, the geographical names - hydronyms - the names of the rivers in which the Proto-Slavic roots are clearly audible - Iskyr, Tundzha, Osam, Maritsa, the name of the mountains - Rhodope, settlements - Plovdiv, Pirdop and dr.

Slavic roots can also be found in the names of the ancient Thracians:

Astius - Ostash, Ostik. (Ukrainian Ostap)

Biarta - Berdo, Vereda, Varadat, (nickname: Bearded Man).

Bessula - Vesula. (in Bulgarian. Name Vesel)

Burtzi - Burji, Bortko, Greyhound, Borsch.

Buris - Borko, Burko

Brigo - Braiko, Breshko, Breiko, Breg.

Brais - Brashko (related words - braga, brashno).

Bisa - Bisa, Bisco.

Bessa - Besa, Besko.

Bassus - Bassus, Basco

Vrigo - Vrigo, Frig.

Auluzanus - Aluzanus, Galusha.

Durze - Durzhe (from the word - friend, squad),

Didil - Didil, Dedilo. (related words in Russian: kid, etc.)

Doles - Dolesh (related words in Russian: share).

Dines - Dines, Tinko.

Tutius - Tutius, Cloud, Tuchko

Mettus - Mittus, Mitus (on behalf of the goddess of the earth and fertility Demeter, the names Dmitry, Mityai originate).

Mucasis - Mukoseya, Mukosey, Mokoseya

Purus - Purus, Puruska

Sipo - Sipo.

Suarithus - Suarithus, Sirich.

Scorus - Skorus, Skora, Skorina, Skorets, Skoryna, Skoryata.

Sudius - Sudius, Sudislav, Sudimir, Sudich, Sudets, etc.

Surus, Serrus - Surus, Serrus, Serko, Sera, Serik (modern name - Sergey)

Tarsa - Tarsha, Turusa.

The source is unknown. The text was copied from the site www.evpatori.ru
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Video
Thracian gold / The Mystery Of The Thracians (2007)

Director: Nikolay Thomas
Released: History channel (France, Bulgaria)
Translation: Professional (monophonic)
Description: Orpheus, Midas and Spartacus are names that are well known to us from school. But few people know that they were all Thracians. This program is dedicated to the analysis of this unjustly forgotten civilization. The Thracians, who lived on the territory of modern Bulgaria, laid the foundations of agriculture and animal husbandry, built the first villages 4500 years ago and had a significant impact on the whole of Europe at that time. In the ruins of their houses and burials, unique treasures were found that have not only historical, but also material value. Among them are the world's first gold products. With the help of 3D graphics, expert commentary and data from the excavation sites, this program tells the story of the ancient civilization of the Thracians - a warlike people known for their exquisite gold products.
Who are the Thracians?

===================

The ancestral home of the Slavs according to genetic data

The genotype of modern Slavs is rather heterogeneous. ... While the set of haplogroups generally coincides with the European one, the relative frequency of individual haplogroups varies greatly geographically: from east to west and from north to south.
East Slavs differ from other groups in a relatively high proportion of haplogroup N3 (especially in the north of the European part of Russia), which is characteristic of the descendants of the Balts and Ugro-Finns.
Have Western Slavs Along with R1a, the haplogroup R1b is found with a high frequency, which prevails in western Europe and is especially characteristic (over 80%) for peoples who speak Celtic languages.
Slavs in the Balkans are distinguished by a special genotype with a predominance of haplogroups I1b and E3b1, of which the former is often found in the territory roughly coinciding with the area of ​​settlement of the Thracian tribes in ancient times(Danube and Carpathian basin), and the second is common in the Mediterranean basin and is characteristic of the Berbers, Greeks and Albanians.

Pairwise comparison shows (in descending order) genetic affinity (parameter P> 0.05) to Ukrainians of such Slavic populations as: Slovaks, southern Belarusians, Russians (Muscovites), Slovenes, Russians (Novgorodians), northern Belarusians, Belarusians from the center, Poles. The sequence in the list may not be accurate due to a statistical error - a small sample (number of people) from the studied populations. Poles are relatively close only to Ukrainians, and their genetic remoteness (P = 0.0003) from the geographical neighbors of Belarusians excludes the possibility for the latter to have an ancestral home in Poland. Thus, genetic analysis points to Ukraine as an ancestral home for the Western and Eastern Slavs, as well as Slovenes, representatives of the southern Slavs.
Western Croats also show some closeness to Ukrainians (P = 0.0246), while Serbs and Bulgarians have no points of contact with Ukrainians (P = 0.0000).
The results obtained in the study are to some extent confirmed by the development of the Prague-Korczak archaeological culture of the 5th-6th centuries. From the upper reaches of the Dniester and the middle Dnieper (Ukraine and southern Belarus), cultural bearers moved westward, skirting the western Carpathians (Slovakia). Then, from the upper reaches of the Oder, the bearers of the Prague culture penetrated the Danube and further south. This path explains the genetic affinity of Slovaks and Slovenes (P = 0.6930). In the west of the Balkans, individual monuments of Prague culture have been found only in the region of Slovenia. From the upper reaches of the Oder and Vistula, the Prague culture passes into the Sukovo-Dziedzitsk (VI-VII centuries), which captures the territory of Poland.
Concerning South Slavs, then their appearance in the Balkans is associated with the bearers of the Penkovo ​​culture, which the authors of the Byzantine era called anty and distinguished from other Slavs.

The distribution area of ​​the Penkovo ​​culture covers a vast area of ​​the Eastern European borderland of the forest-steppe and steppe from the Seversky Donets in the east to Moldova in the west. In the northern direction from the Prut to the Right-bank Dnieper, it comes into contact with the Prague culture, and on the left bank of the Dnieper - with the Kolochin culture. More than 300 monuments of the Penkovo ​​culture are now known on the territory of modern Ukraine.

Anthropological appearance
Researchers believe that the Penkovites were narrow-faced and characterized by mesocraniality. Genetically, they are the heirs of the Chernyakhov culture with a noticeable Iranian admixture. It is assumed that the Penkovites became part of the southern Russian, Ukrainian, as well as the Serbian and Croatian population.
Genesis and connection with other cultures
DT Berezovets initially considered this culture - the culture of the chronicle streets. Later, he expressed a little more caution and believed that the Penkovo ​​antiquities were left by the Slavs who came from the north, and that this is a single Slavic culture. PN Tretyakov saw the genetic basis of the Penkovian antiquities in the late Zarubenets sites of the Upper Dnieper region. According to his version, the Slavic Zarubinets tribes that occupied the territory of the Forest-Steppe Right Bank of the Dnieper, the Pripyat River and the Upper Dniester in the II-III centuries AD were pushed to the north and northeast by the Chernyakhov population. In the post-Hunnic time, in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, the reverse process of settlement of the Slavs to the south begins, as a result of which they occupied the vast territory of the Dnieper-Dniester forest-steppe region and the basin of the lower Danube.
V.V.Sedov considers the Penkovo ​​culture to be Slavic (Ant), speaking out in favor of its Chernyakhovian foundation. However, he notes that this culture did not later develop into the culture of Kievan Rus, but ended its existence at the beginning of the 8th century AD. A. T. Smilenko also considers the Penkovo ​​population to be Antas, but in the process of the formation of this nation it includes not only the Chernyakhov population, but also the northern tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Penkov culture is also considered Slavic by such authors as V. D. Baran, E. A. Goryunov, V. K. Mikheev, O. M. Prikhodnyuk, O. V. Sukhobokov, P. I. Khavlyuk.
But still, some authors define this culture as non-Slavic or not entirely Slavic. So M. I. Artamonov considers the Penkovo ​​culture to be Bulgarian and gives a lot of interesting evidence in favor of this. IP Rusanova sees the roots of these antiquities in the Chernyakhov, non-Slavic, in her opinion, population. She considers the Penkovo ​​ethnos to be polyethnic (multinational), which included Bulgarians, Slavs, Iranian population and other nationalities. And only gradually, at the very late stage of existence, the tribes of the Penkovo ​​culture are Slavicized under the influence of their northern neighbors.
Discovered on the southern Dnieper, settlements of the Penkovskaya culture with yurt-like dwellings allow us to believe that the composition of this culture poured Turkic-speaking (Bulgarian) nomads .

During the Odrysian kingdom of the Thracians, geography was completely different from what it is now. First of all, transport geography.

The city of Kerkenitis (on the site of present-day Evpatoria) was the main junction of the barbarian and Hellenic cultures of the Black Sea region. It is important that there was no gold deposit on the territory of Crimea, but the economy was highly commodity, which means it needed both a coin and jewelry for people of high social status. Thracians, Dacians and Getae made up a significant and important part of the population of the Crimean cities. These were artisans, merchants, and military mercenaries.

This article largely repeats the content of the article "More about the ancestors of the Slavs", but this article provides more evidence of my statements (the ancestors of the Slavs are Thracians and the ethnonym "Slavs" came from the "Word" = Gospel). It also substantiates the assumption that the Goths are a union of the Germanic and Thracian tribes.
In previous articles, using examples of reading Etruscan and Thracian texts, it was shown that many words of the languages ​​of the ancient Etruscans and Thracians are similar to the words of Russian and other Slavic languages. From this it follows that the Etruscans and Thracians are the ancestors of the Slavs.
Consider another option for proving the kinship of the ancient Thracians, Etruscans and Slavs. Figures 1 and 2 show how, according to historians, the ethnic composition of the population in the territory where the Slavs were discovered in the 6-7 centuries AD changed over 200 years (4-6 centuries AD).
Fig. 1 shows the territories where two archaeological cultures were located before the Hunnic invasion: the Przewor culture (2nd century BC - 4th century AD) and Chernyakhovsk culture (2nd century AD - 4th century AD) .), as well as the territory of Dacia and Thrace. The territories of settlement of the Dacians and Thracians are determined on the basis of the data given in historical documents.
The territories occupied by the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures have been determined by modern historians based on items found in the process of archaeological excavations. The ethnic composition of the population that has formed these, sufficiently developed cultures, causes controversy among historians. Domestic historians believe that the ancestors of the Slavs constituted a significant part of the population in these territories. Western, mainly German, historians believe that the cultures in question were formed by representatives of the Germanic tribe of the Goths.
Fig. 2 shows the settlement of the Slavs already in the 6th century AD. The settlement of the Slavs, shown in Fig. 2, is confirmed by archaeological excavations, historical documents and does not cause doubts among historians. And at present, the descendants of those Slavs continue to live in these territories. And the ethnic composition of the same part of Europe until the 6th century A.D. (Figure 1) is controversial.
Figures 1 and 2 show that the territories occupied by the tribes of the Thracians and their related Dacians-Thracians (Dacians) are located within the territories of the Przhevorskaya and Chernyakhovsk cultures that were formed later. Analyzing Fig. 1, an assumption arises that the Przeworskaya and Chernyakhovskaya cultures were also founded by the Thracians and Dacians, who until the 4th century AD. settled in a larger area.
In the 4th century, as a result of the invasion of the Huns and Christianization, another transformation of the settlement takes place. The settlement shown in Fig. 1 turns into another type of settlement shown in Fig. 2. We see that the area of ​​settlement of the now Slavs completely covers the area of ​​resettlement of representatives of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures. It should be borne in mind that on the territory that is shown as the territory of the settlement of the Slavs (Fig. 2), of course, there could be settlements of other peoples. But the number of non-Slavic settlements was significantly less than the number of Slavic ones.
It is quite obvious that such a transformation (Fig. 1 turned into Fig. 2) was facilitated by two large-scale events that took place in these territories during 150-200 years - the invasion of the Huns and Christianization. The invasion of the Huns (375-450 AD) forced a significant part of the population to leave the territories of the Chernyakhov and Przeworsk cultures and settle in a wider area (Fig. 2). At the same time, the cultural achievements of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures, which are largely due to the influence of the Roman Empire, were destroyed by the Huns.
The adoption of the Christian religion by some Thracian and Dacian-Thracian tribes led to the replacement of the ethnonym “Thracians” with the ethnonym “Slovens” (WORD = Gospel, Slovenes are adherents of Christianity). I will further prove these assumptions.
As noted, shown in Fig. 1, these are the areas of settlement of peoples before the 4th century AD, identified by Russian historians. Western historians offer another variant of settlement, it is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is taken from the book “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (by Peter Heather, Astrel Publishing House, MOSCOW, p.128).
According to foreign historians, the main population of the considered region of Europe in the IV century was the Germanic tribes of the Goths. The Goth people seem to have come from Scandinavia, existed for some time in the areas shown in Fig. 3, then were driven out by the Huns to the Crimea, and there the Goths dissolved among the local Turkic population. The period of existence is ready 2 - 8 centuries A.D.

It seems very strange that such a large and powerful people disappear. For example, the Slavs living in Germany since at least the 6th century A.D. (Lusatian Serbs) survived, and even now, in Germany there are up to 40 thousand people who speak the Slavic language. And for what reason the people have disappeared almost without a trace, modern historical science cannot say.
In addition to this "oddity", attention is drawn to the fact that appeared in historical documents in the II century AD. the ethnonym "Goths" is very reminiscent of the ethnonym known since the time of Herodotus (IV century BC), living in these places since ancient times of a group of Thracian tribes - "Getae".
Wikipedia says about the Goths: “Go; you (Gothic ;;;;;;, Gutans; Latin Gothi, Got (h) ones, Gutons; Old Greek ;;;;;) is an ancient Germanic union of tribes. From the 2nd century A.D. until the 8th century A.D. played a significant role in the history of Europe. It was an amalgamation of Germanic tribes, probably of Scandinavian origin, who spoke East Germanic Gothic (for which Bishop Ulfilah developed the Gothic script in the 4th century AD). In the first centuries of our era, they made their way from Sweden to the Black Sea and the Danube River, reaching the outposts of the Roman Empire. In the IV century, Christianity spread among the Goths. "
Wikipedia says about the Getae: “The Getae (Latin Getae, Greek ;;;;;) are an ancient warlike Thracian people, akin to the Dacians, with whom the Romans mixed them; lived in the time of Herodotus (4th century BC) between the Balkans and the Danube. "
From the above text ("lived in the time of Herodotus"), one might think that the Getae disappeared after the 4th century BC, but this is not the case. The Thracian peoples, and a part of them, are noted in historical documents in the 6th century A.D. Then the Thracians (according to my assumptions) are referred to as Antes and Sklovenes (Slavs) and from the 8-10th centuries, finally, they are referred to as Slavs (Slovenia). I consider it appropriate to emphasize once again that the Getae are the same Dacians.
Basic information about the Goths, using which modern historians are trying to recreate the events of the past associated with the Goths, is given in the book of the ancient historian Jordan (6th century AD) "On the origin and deeds of the Getae" (modern version of the book - ed. Aleteya, 2013 Saint Petersburg).
Let's look at some excerpts from this book to understand who the Goths are.
Note 374 (p. 267): “Getae (Getae) and Goths (Gothi) in this case are understood as synonyms (if the later copyist of the manuscript did not confuse the letters“ o ”and“ e ”). However, it should be remembered that Jordan, composing his works to the glory of the Amal clan and the Goths (Ostrogoths) tribe, artificially "increased" the antiquity of the Goth history, referring to them the most ancient events from the history of the Getae. "
From the above text, as we can see, it follows that experts believe that the ancient part of the history of the Germanic tribe Goths is taken from the history of the Thracian tribe of Getae. Let me note right away that the spelling of the ethnonym is sometimes "Goths", sometimes "Getae" occurs in the text of the book more than once. The impression is that this is not an accident, but by this the author wants to show that these ethnonyms are equivalent and designate the same group of peoples. By the way, according to one of the versions, Jordan (the author of the mentioned book) was a Thracian.
Further, in paragraph 58 (p. 72) of the main text we read “Dion, the historian and the most diligent researcher of antiquity, who gave the name to his work“ Getica ”(and these getae, as we have already shown above, are the same as the Goths, according to Paul Orosia), this same Dion mentions after a long time about their king by the name of Telef.
It follows from this fragment that Dio Chrysostom (1-2 centuries AD) also wrote a work that did not come down to us, which has not come down to us, a work with the same name, "Gethica," even earlier than Jordan, but in it he tells exactly about the Getae. Thus, two books were written with the name "Getica" and the Gothic (German-Thracian) "Getica" of Jordan can be considered as a continuation of the Getothrace "Getica" by Dion Chrysostom.
Paragraph 40 (page 68) of the main text assesses the cultural level of the Goths (in fact, the facts show that this is written about the Getae): “Therefore, among all the barbarians, the Goths were always almost the most educated, almost equal to the Greeks, according to Dion, who compiled their history and annals in Greek. "
But, this estimate certainly applies to the geth. After all, as you know, the writing of the Goths was developed only in the 4th century A.D., and only fragments of the Bible survived from the written items of the Goths, while the Thracians and Etruscans (ancestors of the Slavs) already completely owned writing in the 5th century BC. AD. Examples of readings of Etruscan, Thracian and Dacian-Thracian texts are given in the articles "Ring from Ezerovo", "Underworld of the Ancient Dacians", "Adventure of an Etruscan Pirate". However, according to Western historians, it turns out that unknown Goths came to the area where the Getae lived in the 2nd century and immediately became equal to the Greeks. And the Getae (Geto-Dacians, Dacian-Thracians), who have lived in the territory under consideration since ancient times, who had their own state (Odrysian kingdom) in which their coins were minted back in the 5th century BC, seemed to be imperceptible, backward people.
That is, numerous Thracian Getae disappeared somewhere and Goths appeared instead. Then in the 6th century A.D. the Goths disappeared somewhere and the Slavs appeared in their place. Isn't it easier to assume that the Getae Thracians have long existed in these parts. In the period of 2-4 centuries, the Germans joined them. The united people of Thracians (Getae) and Germans began to be called Goths, and in the 6th century, in connection with Christianization, the Thracians began to be called Slavs. And the German part of the Goths moved to the Crimea and there they disappeared into the Turkic population.
The suspicion arises that during the 2-4 centuries the Thracians were in slavish dependence on the Goths. But three obvious facts speak against this assumption.
First, it seems very strange that the Thracians (Getae, Dacians), who had long and successfully resisted Rome, very easily succumbed to the Goth Germans who came (if so).
Second, as noted earlier, the Goths made their history more ancient by taking the history of the Getae. I do not admit that the ambitious Goths (if we assume them only as Germans) humiliated themselves to the point that they copied ancient history from their slaves (?). And as a common history of the united peoples, this is quite acceptable. Further it will be shown that the Germans and Thracians, who founded the Chernyakhov culture, served together in the Roman legions.
Third, some of the leaders of the Goths had Slavic names: Valamir, Tiudimir, Vidimir.
In the book "The Gothic Way", published by the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University in 2005 (the author is a well-known expert on Chernyakhov culture MB Shchukin) on page 282, considering the descendants of the Goth leader Germanarikh, it is reported:
“… ..The grand-nephew of Germanarich, the son of Vinitarius Vandalarius and then his children, three loving brothers - Valamir, Tiudimir (father of Theodoric the Great) and Vidimir.
Confused by the endings of the names of these Gothic rulers in -mir (compare: Vladi-
world): did the above-mentioned contacts of the Goths of the Black Sea region with the bearers of the proto-Slavic Kievan culture have an effect? But it is hardly worth drawing any far-reaching conclusions on this basis. This is where philologists should understand. "
Thus, the Germanic names are undoubtedly considered to belong to the Germans, and the fact that the Slavic names belong to the Slavs (Thracians) in the ruling circles of the Gothic community is questionable. The author advises against drawing far-reaching conclusions. And why? The facts should be explained.
In this case, the explanation is obvious - Slavic names belong to the Slavs. After all, not before the appearance of the Goths, nor after their disappearance, German leaders with Slavic names are unknown.
In a national Germanic state, where the bulk of the population would have been Germans, I think it would have been impossible for people with Slavic names to be in the leadership.
For example, in Russia, Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst (Serbian) - becoming the wife of Peter III, she adopted Orthodoxy and began to be called Ekaterina Alekseevna. And when there is an equal union of two peoples (Germans and Thracians), then each people at the initial stage retains its names and traditions. If this union had existed for a long time, then perhaps a new one would have arisen - the German-Thracian nation. But the invasion of the Huns aggravated the contradictions within the said union and the union collapsed. The question arises - in what language did both peoples communicate? Further, it will be shown that the Thracians and the Germans simultaneously served in the Roman legions and, of course, were fluent in Latin to some extent. Therefore, the language of inter-ethnic communication was Latin. Note that the need for constant communication was only among the Thracian and Germanic leaders. The main population, the Thracians and the Germans, most likely lived separately and their need for communication was minimal.
I will also note that in addition to the undoubtedly Slavic names given, the book of Jordan contains names that also most likely belong to the Slavs - these are Ulfila (the developer of the alphabet is ready) and Kniva (the king of the lucky ones).
The above facts confirm once again that the Goths were formed as an equal union of the Germanic and Thracian (pre-Slavic) ethnic groups.

But on what grounds the official science evaluates the German presence in the Chernyakhov settlements (book “Slavs”, published by “LANGUAGES OF SLAVIC CULTURE”, 2002, author-academician V.V. Sedov, p. 182).
"Among the most striking indicators of German penetration into the Chernyakhov area are the" long houses ", the origins of which are in the house-building of North-Western Europe."
But in the book “The emergence of the state among the Thracians of the 7th-5th centuries. BC." (author - T.D. Zlatkovskaya) reports: “The buildings in the settlements near Dragoynov are of great interest. Despite the fact that not all of them have been excavated, you can still get an idea of ​​their size. In the settlement near Malkiya Asar, the buildings had an area of ​​240 and 120 m2, in the settlement near the Church - 225 and 360 m2. "
"In the archaeological and ethnographic literature, it is usually customary to call houses of such (and somewhat smaller) sizes of various layouts" large houses "that served as dwellings for large-family groups."
The above excerpts show that "large (or long) houses" are not an invention of the Goths, the Thracians, whom I consider to be the ancestors of the Slavs, built such houses much earlier than the Germans.

The above arguments show that the Przhevorskaya and Chernyakhovskaya cultures were founded by representatives of the Thracian and Germanic tribes, who used the experience and assistance of Rome. Obviously, there is no reason to attribute all the achievements of Pshevorskaya and Chernyakhovskaya only to the Germans. Therefore, once again we have to admit that the Goths were formed as an equal union of the Germanic and Thracian (pre-Slavic) ethnic groups.
And one more example to confirm the fact that the Slavs were part of the Goths tribes.
Here is a quote from the book "Slavs" (published by "Languages ​​of Slavic Culture", Moscow, 2002, p. 148) by academician V.V. Sedov: ethnonym Goths ".
I would suggest, without pretending to be true, that the origin of some part of the people is ready, similar to the origin of the Romanian people. That is, if the Romanians, judging by the language (in the basic vocabulary of Romanians, 3800 words of Slavic origin and 2600 words of Latin origin), are a mixture of Thracian and Latin peoples. And the Goths (the Germanic part of them), perhaps, were a mixture of the Germanic and Thracian peoples.

This version can be confirmed if the Thracian (Slavic) influence can be found in the available dictionary of Gothic words. That is, the Goths and Romanians could have formed if the Germans and Latins married Thracian women. Perhaps the descendants of the Goths are the Lusatian Serbs, who still live in Germany. (By the way, Catherine II Alekseevna the Great - née Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst (Serbian) belonged to the Lusatian Serbs and, probably, was therefore a patriot of Russia.)
But this version contradicts Jordan's assertion that the Goths came from Scandinavia. In light of my assumptions, it turns out that the Goths, on the contrary, could have moved to Scandinavia. This version seems interesting to me, but I cannot consider it proven at the present time.
Further it will be shown that the Chernyakhov culture was founded by the Thracian and Germanic legionaries of Rome and their descendants.
When restoring events that have passed long ago, historians have two main sources of information - the chronicles of ancient authors and archaeological finds. Ancient chronicles up to the 8th century AD were written only by Greeks, Romans and historians who own the writing of these peoples (for example, the Gothic historian Jordan), since only books in Greek and Latin have survived to our time. Although there is an opinion that the surviving books are not primary sources and we are dealing with copies. Books of other peoples, for example the Etruscans, if they existed, did not survive. But inscriptions in the Etruscan and Thracian languages ​​have survived. It turned out that these languages ​​are close to the Slavic languages. Around the 6th A.D. notes of Arab travelers began to appear, in which the Slavs were also mentioned.
The above considerations show that the work of historians is very similar to the work of forensic investigators, but the events that historians investigate have been removed for hundreds and thousands of years, therefore there are, of course, not enough.
In the work of the investigator, at the present time, perfect equipment is used, volumes of testimony of witnesses are being written, and, nevertheless, unfounded judgments occur, caused by the inaccuracy of recreating recent events.
Since historians have immeasurably less reliable initial data than investigators, their versions, of course, are always approximate. You have to put up with this. But the task of historians is to make historical assumptions as close as possible to real events, that is, as likely as possible.
Let's try to figure out how historians use archaeological finds to restore the characteristics of the peoples who lived in the territory under consideration.
Archaeological culture is an important sign of determining the ethnicity of some ancient people. This is especially important when there is no written evidence left about the studied people. Consider what professional historians understand by the definition of "archaeological culture". This is how experts think.
Archaeological culture is a stable set of features characteristic of the remnants of the past of a certain period in the development of society. This includes:
a certain burial rite;
repeating forms of jewelry;
clothing accessories;
typical types of tools, weapons, household equipment;
specific features in the arrangement of dwellings and settlements;
forms of ceramics.
Earlier, using the example of "large houses", it was shown that it is necessary to make inputs very carefully, using "specific features in the arrangement of dwellings and settlements."
In addition, it cannot be said that the given set of features accurately determines belonging to a particular ethnic group, the people living in a given territory, and that historians strictly take into account the significance of cultures in their assumptions.
A change in shape, for example a pot, in some locality may not always serve as an indication that there has been a change in population.
A change in the shape or other sign of a pot can occur if, for example, a good potter was taken prisoner and he taught the locals to make good pots. Or, conversely, a good potter suddenly died without leaving a replacement. Bad pots began to appear.
In addition to this, historians, except for their own preferences, does not force them to strictly take into account the influence of signs of archaeological culture.
Of course, the assessment of archaeological cultures is carried out using more subtle methods than in the examples given here, but their application often does not make it possible to unambiguously substantiate the connection between the signs of archaeological culture and the ethnic composition of the population in a given territory.
At the same time, the concept of "archaeological culture" still allows us to reveal at least some connection between the discovered ancient objects and the ethnic composition of the population of a given area, but this must be done very carefully, evaluating the entire range of possible options.
Let's consider another example, which we will take from the book of Academician V.V. Sedov. ("Slavs" p. 144). The book says: “The appearance of the Goths in Polish Pomerania is clearly recorded by archaeological sites of the first half of the 1st century. AD ... .. Unlike the aboriginal population, who buried the dead in burial grounds without burials according to the rite of corpse burning, the newcomers buried the dead according to the rite of inhumation. "
But then the following happens: “In all likelihood, the majority of its population was made up of the descendants of local tribes - gradually the rite of corpse burning becomes dominant. But this entire population was most likely called the Goths. "
Thus, the acceptance by the newcomers (Goths) of the local culture (they accepted the rite of corpse burning), indicating that the small newcomers were assimilated by the local population and adopted the customs of the local population, is not taken into account, and the entire population of the region is proposed to be considered the recently arrived small-numbered Goths. But a certain burial rite is the most stable sign of the culture of the people.
Another, rather typical technique of professional historians, which, in my opinion, cannot be considered convincing, is a reference to authorities. Consider an example from the book by M.B. Shchukin's "The Gothic Way". Without going into the essence of the issue, let us consider how the author avoids evidence, referring to an authoritative specialist for him. On page 230 it is written: “Some researchers, for example, Mr. Vernadsky (Vernadsky 1994), tend to see in the ants of this episode not the Slavs, but some kind of Alan or Hunnic association. According to Ammianus, the heir of Germanarich fought not with the Antes, but with the Alans, "relying on another tribe of the Huns, which he attracted for money into an alliance with himself" (Amm. Marc. XXXI, 3,3). The name “anta” is sometimes chosen by Iranian (Ossetian) or Turkic etymologies - “external”, “borderline” or “allies”.
It seems to me it would be more convincing to say that Vernadsky, on the basis of such and such facts, came to the conclusion that the ants in this episode are not Slavs. Or even without mentioning Vernadsky, cite facts (arguments) on the basis of which the indicated conclusion can be drawn. In my constructions, I try to use this method of proof. And professional historians prefer to refer to the opinion of authorities, as a result, they get texts that look more like fiction than evidence-based historical versions.
I do not want to completely erase the significance of the work of professional historians, I myself use the results of their work. In addition, let me remind you that the professional Soviet historian Nikolai Sevostyanovich Derzhavin for the first time reasonably suggested that the Slavs are the descendants of the ancient people of the Thracians.
Unfortunately, this assumption has not received support in the scientific community. I was able to confirm the assumption of Derzhavin N.S., having established that the words of the texts in the Thracian language are very similar to the analogous words of the Slavic languages. It was also found that the words of the texts in the Etruscan language are also similar to the analogous words of the Slavic languages. Consequently, the Thracians and Etruscans are related peoples, and the Slavs are the descendants of these ancient peoples.
Further analysis of historical materials will show that the majority of the population that formed the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures were still Thracians and Etruscans, the ancestors of the Slavs, and it was they who were the aboriginal population.
Let us consider how experts characterize the Pshevorskaya and Chernyakhovskaya cultures.
Przewor culture (from Wikipedia):
Material culture
Sometimes the culture is called provincial Roman, because during the excavation of burials, a large number of fragments of Roman chain mail are found that were used by mercenary Germans (we note that there were also a large number of Thracians as mercenaries in the Roman army) from the auxiliary units of the Roman army. During excavations of monuments of this culture, brooch fasteners are also found. The carriers of the Przeworsk culture had advanced weapons: swords, darts. The ceramics were made on the basis of a potter's wheel.
Ethnicity]
Some researchers consider this culture to be Slavic and identifies its carriers with the Wends. The writers of the ancient Roman era described this territory as occupied by lugia (K. Godlovsky).
The tribes, also associated with the western part of the territory and the era of the Przewor culture, include the Vandals. Also, within the western part of the territory of the Przewor culture, there were small Germanic tribes of the Garnies, Helizians, Manim and Naganarwals. Some researchers identify (include in) the carriers of the Przewor culture of the Slavs and Celts. However, complete continuity with later cultures is not visible either: after the IV century. (invasion of the Huns) Przeworskie monuments in Poland are unknown.
Chernyakhovskaya culture (from Wikipedia):
Material culture.
Trade flourished with the nearest antique centers. This is evidenced by imported items (amphorae, in which wine and olive oil were brought, glass cups, less often - red-lacquered vessels) - intact and in fragments, found at all the monuments of the Chernyakhov culture. In foreign and domestic trade, the Roman coin was used. More than a thousand coin hoards have been discovered on the territory of the Chernyakhov culture. Some features of the Chernyakhov culture developed under the influence of the late antique civilization.
To clarify the characteristics of the Chernyakhov culture, I consider it appropriate to quote from the book "The Gothic Way" by the famous archaeologist, specialist in Chernyakhov culture, M.B. Shchukin.
“By the way, frequent finds of millstones can testify to the contacts of the carriers of the Chernyakhov culture with the inhabitants of the adjacent (border) provinces of the Empire. As RS Minasyan noted, the Chernyakhovsky millstones completely reproduce the shape and design of the soldier's marching millstones of the Roman army, which are well known in the camps of the Limes (Minasyan 1978).
The center for the production of such millstones was found and investigated by P.I. Khavlyuk near the village. Lugovoi Vinnitsa region (Khavlyuk 1980), here traces of the development of volcanic tuff, a rock rare in Ukraine, but optimal for millstones, were also revealed. The researcher, not without reason, believes that master masons, natives of the Roman provinces, took part in the work. "
Thus, we see concrete evidence of the contribution of the legionnaires of the Roman army to the Chernyakhov culture. Let us note this fact; further it will be used in the proof system.
Ethnicity.
The Chernyakhov culture in time and geography coincides with the state of Oyum founded by the Goths at the beginning of the 3rd century. n. NS. (later I found out that there was no Oyum state, but there was an area with that name) and destroyed by the Huns at the end of the 4th century. However, most researchers believe that the Chernyakhov culture was multi-ethnic. In addition to the Germans, the Thracians-Dacians, Iranian-speaking Sarmatians, and Antes lived here. The opinion about such a multi-ethnicity of the Chernyakhov culture is based mainly on the presence of local features in housebuilding, ceramics and the funeral ritual of its carriers.
As you can see, in the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures, there is clearly a connection with the ancient world of the Mediterranean. In the Przeworsk archaeological finds were discovered "a large number of fragments of Roman chain mail." And “On the territory of the Chernyakhovsk culture, more than a thousand treasures with Roman coins have been discovered. Some features of the Chernyakhov culture were formed under the influence of the late antique civilization. "
Many historians suggest that Germans were the main population in the territories of both cultures. But it is obvious that the peoples closest to the ancient Mediterranean culture were the Thracians (the neighbors of the Greeks) and the Etruscans (the neighbors of the Romans). Again, historians, despite the clear signs of Mediterranean culture, argue that the peoples on the territory of the Chernyakhov culture belong to the Germanic tribes of the Goths. So, the signs of archaeological cultures are not decisive for historians.
According to this version, it turns out that the Goth Germans who recently came from Scandinavia (Skanza) immediately established strong, friendly relations with Greece and Rome, and a large group of ancient related peoples (Thracians, Dacians-Thracians, Ghetto Dacians, Etruscans) are neighbors of these Mediterranean states at that time she was absent somewhere.
As a result of the influence of the Huns (375-450 AD) and the process of adoption of Christianity by the peoples living in the considered territory, in the place of settlement of heterogeneous, mainly Germanic (according to many historians) or Thracian (in my opinion) tribes (Fig. 1) in the 6th century, numerous Slavs are found (Fig. 2). And the achievements of the Chernyakhov culture are destroyed.
It is generally accepted that the ancient historians Jordan and Procopius of Caesarea first discovered and described the Slavic tribes (Antes, Sklovene) in the 6th century A.D.
Based on the information presented, we will try to guess what events could lead to such a transformation of archaeological cultures and populations.
Let us single out once again the peoples who, according to historians, lived on the territory of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures.
The carriers of the Przeworsk culture were, according to the assumptions of professional historians: the Slavs (you probably need to understand that this means the ancestors of the Slavs, since the ethnonym "Slovens" appeared in the 6th century AD), Wends, Vandals, small Germanic tribes of Garni, Geliziev , Manim and Naganarwals, as well as Lugia, Celts.
The carriers of the Chernyakhov culture, according to the assumptions of professional historians, were: "In addition to the Germans, the Thracians-Dacians, Iranian-speaking Sarmatians, and Antes lived here."
We see that the Slavs (more precisely, the ancestors of the Slavs) are, according to the assumptions of professional historians, one of approximately 11 tribes. That is, they are not the majority
But it is obvious that in order for the settlement of numerous Slavs, depicted in Fig. 2, to appear, in both, the original cultures (Fig. 1), there must be a large number of ancestors of the Slavs. Consequently, in the ethnic composition of the population of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures, some of these tribes are most likely not Germans, but the ancestors of the Slavs, i.e. are related to the Thracians. The ancestors of the Slavs from these peoples were most likely: Thracians, Dacians, Wends, Antes, possibly Lugia. And these kindred peoples were in the majority.
By the way, about the number of Slavs and Ants in the aforementioned book of Jordan ("Getica"), in note 108 (p. 208) it is reported:
“In any mention of Procopius and the Sklavens and Antahs, it is indicated that these tribes were populous, strong not only in their courage, but also in their numbers. There is a well-known expression of Procopius about the antas - "innumerable, immeasurable tribes."
Thus, we have a weighty confirmation of the large number of tribes of Antes and Sklavens (ancestors of the Slavs). And this quality (multiplicity) makes them related to the Thracians and modern Slavs (the largest group of kindred peoples in Europe).
If you do not accept the version of the original multiplicity of the ancestors of the Slavs, then it is necessary to show how the invasion of the Huns and Christianization led to a sharp reduction in the German population (Goths) and a sharp increase in the Thracian (ancestors of the Slavs) population for a period of less than 100 years (the time of the invasion of the Huns). But this is precisely what some historians claim, although they do not provide convincing evidence that this was exactly the case.
Consider how the invasion of the Huns led to a sharp expansion of the area of ​​residence of the Slavs. During the period of the Hunnic occupation of a large part of Europe, the Huns showed themselves as destroyers and marauders. They destroyed the achievements of the Chernyakhov culture, which was based on the influence of Greece and Rome. At the same time, part of the ancestors of the Slavs and the ancient Germans, according to ancient historians, participated together with the Huns in raids on neighboring peoples. They were especially attracted by the outskirts of the Roman Empire.
It is likely that it was during this period that the Germanic tribe of the Vandals, whose name became a household name, showed itself. Another, probably most of the ancestors of the Slavs, tried to survive in the new conditions. Therefore, a significant part of the population from the territories of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures was forced to look for new, quieter, areas of residence, mainly in more northern areas.
As a result of the above events, the settlement area of ​​the Slavs was formed, shown in Fig. 2. This area is almost twice the total area of ​​the regions of the Przhevorskaya and Chernyakhovskaya cultures, therefore, the population density of this area, naturally, has become much less. But, perhaps, despite the oppression of the Huns, the number of Slavs in the territory (Fig. 2) even increased compared to the initial number (Fig. 1), due to the intensive influx of the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracian population) from the territories subject to Rome.
The possibility of increasing the number of Slavs due to the intensive migration of the Thracian tribes (I believe that the Slavs are descendants of the Thracians and Etruscans) is indicated by the following episode, given in the book "Huns, Formidable Warriors of the Steppes" (author E.A. Thompson, Moscow publishing house. CENTROPOLYGRAPH , 2008 p. 74). You can read there:
"... ... runaway slaves and" those who lost their position "in Roman society, declared that they were Huns, and continued to ravage Thrace until they were defeated by Fravitta." And further: "But more importantly, this incident clearly shows us that the arrival of the Huns, like many other barbarians hostile to the imperial government, was enthusiastically welcomed by the oppressed classes: their arrival was associated with the opportunity to throw off the shackles of slavery."
The described episode shows that in the Roman Empire during the Hunnic period there were many disaffected (slaves and "those who lost their position"), it was they, the Thracians, Etruscans, who then began to be called the Antes and Sklavens (Slavs) were the allies of the Huns in the fight against Rome. Due to the fact that it was not possible to defeat the Roman Empire and because of the fear of cruel sanctions from Rome, the ancestors of the Slavs (Etruscans and Thracians) massively moved to those areas where they were later discovered as Slavs (Fig. 2). In the above example, an unsuccessful attempt by those dissatisfied with Roman influence to join the Huns is described, but there were probably also successful ones.
In the above excerpt, one should pay attention to the words "fugitive slaves and" those who lost their position "in Roman society, declared that they were Huns." It is believed that the Huns are warriors of Asian appearance, and in the above example, "fugitive slaves and" those who have lost their position "(obviously of European appearance) claim that they are Huns." From these words, it obviously follows that there were a significant number of Europeans in the Huns' troops. Only in this case can a European pass himself off as a Hun.
The words “slaves and“ those who have lost their position ”force us to speculate on the subject of slavery of the Slavs. Of course, the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians and Etruscans), as well as representatives of the Germans, Gauls and other peoples, fell into slavery to the Romans. Both the Romans and Greeks themselves (the founders of European culture) also fell into slavery, although rarely. The Thracians were the most numerous people of Europe (according to Herodotus), so there could be a significant number of Thracian slaves.
But there is no reason to assess the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians, Etruscans) as a people inclined to be in slavery. Well, firstly, the Thracians and Dacian-Thracians were the last people that Rome managed to conquer (1st century AD). Prior to that, these peoples successfully defended their independence. The states were created: Thracian (Odrysian kingdom) and Dacia. The victory over the Dacians (Dacian-Thracians) was so difficult and important for Rome that in honor of this victory a special marble memorial 38 m high was erected in Rome - Trajan's Column. Probably, this difficult victory of Rome forced Rome to make concessions and marked the beginning of the Chernyakhov culture. In this culture, the facts of Thracian-Roman cooperation are clearly visible.
It should also be noted that some of the most educated Etruscans held fairly high posts in the Roman Empire and did not intend to leave it. They completely disappeared into Roman society. It is interesting to note that very famous artists of the Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, were born in the northern part of Italy, exactly where Etruria was. The relationship between the Italians (the descendants of the Romans) and the descendants of the Etruscans is possibly described in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". This play reflects the long-term feud between the two clans, the Monteca and the Capulet. It can be assumed that one of these families had Etruscan roots and this fact explains the enmity of the clans.
Rome recognized the military merits of the Thracians. Proof of this is the fact that in gladiatorial battles there was a type of gladiator - "Thracian". After all, gladiatorial fights played not only the role of entertainment, but also a teaching role. They showed how the opponents of Rome can fight, which of course was taken into account when developing the tactics of military operations. Well, finally, at least one of the Roman emperors was a Thracian by birth (Maximin-Thracian 235-238 AD).
And the fact that the Thracians left the territory of the empire en masse at every opportunity speaks for itself. And the largest slave uprising was led by the Thracian Spartacus. Here is an incomplete list of reasons why it is impossible to consider the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians) inclined to being in slavery. Many other peoples were unable to resist Rome and the mention of them disappeared in historical documents. The Thracian peoples have survived and now they are called Slavic peoples.
Sometimes the similarity of the sound of the ethnonym "Slavs" with the Latin word slave (slave), meaning "slave", is considered a sign that allegedly confirms the slavish position of the Slavs in ancient times. But I argue that this is just a coincidence. This happens, for example, the English word corresponding to the Russian word "soldier" sounds like "corpse." And Muslims deliberately call men by the name "Abdul", which in Arabic also means "slave" (meaning - the servant of God).
And one more fact testifies to the impossibility of the Slavic peoples being in slavery. It's a language. When a people finds itself in a long-term slavish dependence on another people, a large number of words of the people-sovereign must appear in the speech of the dependent people. Slavic languages ​​are not distinguished by the number of language borrowings from other peoples of Europe.
As an opposite example, we can cite the English language of American blacks who were brought to America as slaves from Africa. I doubt that, after 200 years of slavery, any modern American Negro speaks the languages ​​of their African ancestors.
As I have already pointed out, in my opinion, the ethnonym "Slovyane" came from the "Word" (one of the names of the Gospel) and the renaming of the Thracians into Slavs occurred in the process of adoption by some of the Thracian tribes of the Christian teaching.
Unfortunately, I, as well as the authors of other versions of the origin of this ethnonym, have not yet been able to find direct confirmation in historical documents that the ethnonym "Slovyane" came from the name of the Gospel (Word). This version, like others, is based on logical assumptions. But my assumptions seem to me more weighty than the assumptions that substantiate other versions. Below are the facts from which my conclusion follows: Slovenians are adherents of the Christian religion.
1. The ethnonym "Slovyane" appeared after the appearance of Christianity, before this event of peoples with such a name was not noted in historical documents.
2. The Gospel (the main text of the New Testament) is sometimes called the Word of God (Dahl's dictionary) or the Word of Grace. In the circle of new converts, the Gospel could well be called simply "the Word." Adherents of the Lay, of course, could call themselves Slovyane.
3. All Slavic peoples profess the Christian religion.
4. In the "Tale of Bygone Years" the chronicler Nestor says "And the Slavs dispersed across the land from the land of the Bulgarian (Thracian) and Hungarian." And Thrace is adjacent to Greece and the first Christians (Slavs) appeared in the 2nd century AD. precisely in Thrace (Bulgaria).
There is another piece of evidence that supports this version. In the book "On the Origin and Deeds of the Getae (Goethics)" by the ancient historian Jordan (published by ALEETEYA, St. Petersburg, 2013), footnote 108 (p. 205) contains an epitaph dedicated to Bishop Martin (years of his life: 520-580 BC). A.D.). It says: "You drew various fierce tribes into an alliance with Christ." The following is a listing of the tribes and among them a tribe is mentioned with the name Sclavus (clavus = Slavs). Historians believe that this is one of the first mentions of the Slavs. Thus, we have concrete confirmation of the adoption of the Christian faith by a tribe called the Slavs in the 6th century AD. True, from this example it is not clear whether this ethnonym existed before the adoption of Christianity or whether it arose as a result of the Christianization of this tribe. I, of course, believe that this tribe changed its name and as a result of the adoption of the Christian faith began to be called "Slovens".
Interesting information on the origin of the ethnonym "Slovenes" can be found in the book of academician ON. Trubachev -
"Ethnogenesis and culture of the ancient Slavs."
(Linguistic research). MOSCOW "SCIENCE" 2003
Page 311
It turns out that in the documents of the King of the Franks - Charlemagne (9th century AD) there are references to the Slavs. Here is a list of ethnonyms:
1.Sclavi Margenses, 2.Sclavi Beheimi, 3.Sclavi Carantani, 4.Sclavi Carniolenses, 5.Sclavi Pannonii, 6.Sclavi Dalmatini, 7.Sclavi Cruati, 8.Sclavi Sorabi, 9.Sclavi Abodriti
These ethnonyms, as we can see, consist of two words. I understand the names "Slavs of Pannonia" (5), "Slavs of Dalmatia" (6), "Slavs of Serbia" (8), "Slavs of Obodriti" (9).
The above list shows that in the 9th century, the tribes that lived in the territories of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Serbia, which had their own name (Obodrit, for example), received a second, unifying name - Sclavi (Slovians). This gives reason to believe that a significant part of the Thracians living in these territories converted to Christianity, became adherents of the WORD (WORD = Gospel), became "Slavs". It is obvious to me that the addition "Sclavi" emphasizes the belonging of some of these tribes to Christianity, representatives of another part of the tribes that did not accept Christianity were probably called "Anty".
And now we can see an analogy to the ancient ethnonyms: the Slavs of Russia, the Slavs of Ukraine, the Slavs of Belarus, etc.
Considering the above, let us consider what the process of appearance of the addition "Sclavi" to the names of tribes (I believe that these are the Thracian tribes) could have been.
The first version: the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians), living in the area from the Black to the Baltic Sea, in the 6th century AD. suddenly realized that they had a lot in common and decided to give themselves an additional, unifying name - "Slovens" (Slavs). But it is obvious that the eternal inter-Slavic strife and huge distances will not allow this to be done. Therefore, this version has to be admitted as incredible.
Second version: In the 4th-6th centuries A.D. already Christian Byzantium sends its preachers to different places in Europe to familiarize the "wild" tribes with the Christian doctrine. When they arrive back, they will probably draw up written reports on the work done. They notice that many tribes speak similar languages ​​and call the Gospel “The Word”. The adherents of the Lay call themselves Slovenians. Naturally, preachers, for successful work, must have a good command of the Slavic (Thracian) language. Recall that Greece is adjacent to Thrace, and a significant part of the Thracians speaks Greek. It is known that Greece adopted Christianity in the 2nd century AD, and the Thracian language, as I have shown, is the same Slavic. suggest that the preachers sent to the lands of the Thracians were also Thracians, who adopted Christianity and were brought up in Greek culture. Recall, too, that the early Russian culture was very much associated with the culture of Greece. And the Russian artist Theophanes the Greek is most likely not a Greek, but a Thracian who lived in Greece. And he arrived in Russia without an interpreter, since he himself was fluent in Russian.
It seems to me that the second version of the origin of the ethnonym "Slovyane" is much more convincing.

Let's continue with the Huns. It turns out that Christian preachers did a thorough job with the Huns. Here's what you can read in the previously mentioned book by E.A. Thompson (p. 56).
“The Church was not afraid of the rage and unbridledness of the new invaders, and soon after their first appearance at the border, the first Christian missionaries went to them. At the beginning of the 5th century, Bishop Teotim (Theophim) of Tomitan (Fomitan) visited the Huns. We know that the Huns on the Danube treated him with great respect and called him "the god of the Romans." …. It was said that once Theophim and his companions were passing through enemy territory and saw a group of Huns heading in their direction. Companions of Theophim were horrified, deciding that they were finished. But Theophim got off his horse and began to pray. The Huns galloped past, not noticing them, as if Theophimus with his companions and their horses had become invisible ....
At about the same time, other missionaries were sent to the Huns, who were sent by John Chrysostom to the "nomadic Scythians located on the Danube." Our source uses the term "nomadic Scythians" in relation to the Huns, and we are sure that the Patriarch of Constantinople tried to convert the new barbarians to Christianity. "
Thus, we see intensive and probably successful work with the Huns of Christian preachers. And since some Antes and Slavs (then still Thracians) were part of the troops of the Huns and some of them were probably already familiar with Christian teaching, then, thanks to the influence of the Antes and Thracians, Christian missionaries could successfully preach the teaching among the Huns. Despite the fact that the Huns did not succeed in converting them to Christianity, nevertheless, respect was instilled in Christians. And a significant part of the Thracian peoples in the Hunnic period adopted Christianity and began to be called Slavs.
As you know, the official (state) baptism of Russia was carried out by Prince Vladimir in the 9th century AD. But it is also known that certain groups of Thracians (neighbors of the Greeks) adopted Christianity as early as the 2nd century AD. Therefore, in the 4th century A.D. the number of Thracians who converted to Christianity (who became adherents of the SLOVA-Slavs) could be significant.
In the book: "History of Religions" (author I.A. Kryvelev, publ. "Thought" Moscow-1975, vol. 1, p. 334), it is said about the duration of the process of adopting Christianity in Russia: "The Christianization of Russia was a long and gradual process, the beginning of which dates back to earlier times than the reign of Vladimir, and the end dates back several centuries after his reign. "The Baptism of Rus" by Vladimir was only one of the episodes of this epic. "
Here is another example of the influence of Christianity on the processes taking place in Europe during the Hunnic period. A quote from the same book by E.A. Thompson (p. 85).
“The Huns constantly attacked them (the Germanic tribe of the Burgundians), devastated their lands, robbed and killed. Out of desperation, the Burgundians adopted Christianity, because they heard that the Christian God helps those who fear him. They were not disappointed in their decision. The result was an astounding Hunnic king named Aptar who died at night from gluttony and his people were left without a leader. There were about 10 thousand Huns, but 3 thousand Burgundians managed to defeat them. "
It can be seen from the examples given that the peoples of Europe in the period under review were interested in adopting Christianity. Indeed, despite some fantastic nature of the examples of the help of the Christian God, these examples could have a real basis and showed that the people who adopted Christianity have divine protection. Therefore, it is not surprising that a significant part of the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians, Etruscans, Wends) could also convert to Christianity and become Slavs during this period.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the ancient historians who first described the Slavs (Procopius and Jordan), as a rule, mention them simultaneously with their related tribe of Antes. If I assume that the Slavs (Slavs) are adherents of Christianity, then how can the origin of the ethnonym Anta be explained? It turns out there may be an interesting explanation here. The word anta can come from the Latin word ANTI, which means "against" (antichrist is the adversary of Christ). Thus, we see the commonwealth of two groups of related tribes. One group of tribes adopted Christianity (Slavs), another group of tribes remained faithful to the pagan faith (anty-against the adoption of Christianity).
The fact that the Huns were robbing in Europe for a relatively short time (less than 100 years) is probably due to the merit of Christian missionaries.
In 452 A.D. Attila, the leader of the Huns, suddenly died of excesses. For three more years his sons tried to rule the empire of Attila, but, as a result, they failed to save the empire and it collapsed.
Let's try to restore the pre-Hunnic history of this region of Europe and find out in more detail which peoples left behind the signs of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhov cultures. To do this, consider the composition of coins found in hoards in the territories of these cultures. Obviously, the number of treasures and the composition of the coins in them fairly objectively characterizes the trade relations of the population of these cultures with the Roman Empire. And the vast majority of coins are Roman coins.
For the analysis, we use the data given in the article by V.V. Kropotkin. "Hoards of Roman coins on the territory of the USSR". Here's what it says: "... but the areas of mass distribution of Roman coins cover a narrower territory: the Moldavian SSR, the forest-steppe regions of the Ukrainian SSR and Transcaucasia." The indicated regions (except for the Transcaucasia) are the regions occupied by the Chernyakhov culture (Fig. 1).
The article provides a table of the discovery of treasures with the symbols of various emperors for the period from 27 AD to 565 AD.
Let's consider how the coins found in the hoards are distributed over time. It turns out that in the largest number of hoards of the coin dates from the period of 80 AD - 211 AD. Coins of this period (130 years) were found in 409 hoards. The number of treasures for the rest of the period (about 400 years) is only 126 treasures. It turns out that the average intensity of treasure burials is 3 treasures per year for the period 80-211 AD. and 0.3 treasure per year during the rest of the period. But even in the intensive period of treasure burials, a period of maximum activity can be distinguished - this is the period from Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD) to Emperor Komod (180-192 AD). This period is characterized by the fact that the coins of each of the six emperors who ruled during this period (Trajan, Hadrian, Anthony Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Commodus) account for at least 45 treasure burials.
It is quite obvious that the period of the most active trade exchange between the Chernyakhovites and the Roman Empire was precisely in the period of 98-192 AD. and this period began with the emperor Trajan. Probably, these coins, or a significant part of them, were intended to pay salaries to the soldiers and officers of the Roman legions who were in this territory.
Let's analyze the events that took place on the territory of the Chernyakhov culture in the period from 98 AD. And the main events during this period were the two wars between Rome and the Daco-Thracians. It should be noted that Dacia in the period under review, according to the recognition of ancient historians, as noted earlier, in terms of the level of economic and cultural development, was in third place in Europe after Rome and Greece. This probably gave rise to an overestimated self-esteem of the Dacian king Decibalus, who attacked the territories subject to Rome.
The first major armed clashes between Dacia and Rome took place under the emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). In these clashes, the Roman legions won several victories, but the Romans had to pay dearly for these victories, literally. About the peace treaty concluded between Domitian and the king of Dacia, Decebalus, in the book "Legions of Rome" (author Stephen Dando-Collins, Moscow publishing house, CENTROPOLIGRAPH, 2013, p. 410, the price is 1200 rubles): “In this agreement Domitian agreed to pay Dacians large sums of gold annually as a payment for peace, as well as give Decebalus advisers - military and engineers. "
For his part, Decibal did not promise anything: "Apart from the withdrawal of the Dacians from the Mesian bank of the Danube and the promise of a future future world, all that Rome received in exchange for this treaty was the return of several Roman prisoners from the multitude of Roman captives held by the Dacians."
That is, the "victorious" Domitian undertook to support the defeated Dacians financially and to help increase the defense capability of the Dacian army by sending military specialists. Quite a strange attitude of the winner to the loser. But this attitude can be explained. The fact is that Rome probably wanted to use Dacia as a defensive zone against nomads, perhaps the Romans had information about the growing threat, so the Romans took measures to increase the military potential of the Dacians. In addition, a friendly population could provide food for the legions of Rome stationed in Europe. With this approach, Rome's actions do not look so stupid. Since 89 AD the Roman Empire began to pay tribute to Dacia. Unfortunately, Decibala was not satisfied with this option, he was very confident in his abilities.
The peace concluded with the Dacians was humiliating for Rome, therefore, another emperor, Trajan, in 101 AD. began a military campaign against Dacia. In the book "Legions of Rome" the scale of preparation for the operation to conquer Dacia is described as follows: “The activities carried out in the rear for the Dacian operation were enormous in scale; about 100 thousand troops, almost the same number of civilians, thousands of sailors, plus 30 thousand horses, mules and cattle ... "
In 102, Trajan managed to break through to the capital of the Dacians, Sarmisegetuse. The Dacians declared themselves defeated and their representatives, led by Decibal, went outside the city walls to Trajan to ask for peace. According to one of the terms of peace, Decibal "... was also obliged to hand over the deserters from the Roman army who fought for him, and hand over all the artillery and advisers that had previously been lent to him under the agreement with Domitian."
Why does Trajan, like Domitian in his time, attach such great importance to the extradition of deserters? It is suggested that there were quite a few deserters and Trajan, fearing further desertion, wants to punish them demonstratively. Let us think, why should a Roman defect from the Roman army to the side of Dacians alien to him, who are about to be defeated. Indeed, such a Roman deserter looks very stupid. But if the Thracians, akin to the Daco-Thracians, massively defect from the Roman army, then everything becomes clear. The Thracians are much closer to the interests of the Daco-Thracians than the interests of the Roman Empire, and they are ready to risk their lives for the sake of these interests.
But Decibalus was not going to fulfill the agreement and Trajan understood this. For three years, the Dacians were preparing to resume the war. In 105 AD, Dacian forces attacked several Roman fortresses in Roman-occupied territory.
In 106 A.D. Trajan's army, consisting of 12 legions (one legion is about 5000 soldiers) and dozens of auxiliary units again moved to Dacia. During the storming of the capital of the Dacians, Saramisegetuza, the Dacians, seeing the inevitability of defeat, set fire to houses, many of them took poison. Decibalus with several close associates managed to leave the capital. Decibal was eventually overtaken and he cut his throat so as not to be captured alive. The place where Decibal committed suicide was "... not far from the place where the borders of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine meet today ...".
Dacia became a Roman province. In the aforementioned book "Legions of Rome" (p. 185), Trajan's actions to stabilize the situation in Dacia are given: "Trajan established a Roman military colony in Sarmisegetus in Dacia and settled the retired veterans of the XIII Double Legion there. Another colony was established in the Dacian city of Orshov (present-day Djörna). " Note that the XIII Double Legion was founded in 58 AD. and was formed in Caesalpine Gaul, it is very close to the territory of the conquered Etruscans and Wends. It is likely that when completing the legion in subsequent years, the legion included many representatives of these peoples, who, in my opinion, were the ancestors of the Slavs.
Another source of the appearance of the ancestors of the Slavs on the territory of Dacia and its environs is mentioned in Wikipedia (the word “Trajan”): “Immigrants from the empire, mainly from its Balkan and generally eastern outskirts, poured into the newly conquered lands. Together with them, new religious cults, customs and language reigned in the new lands. The settlers were attracted by the riches of the beautiful land and, above all, the gold found in the mountains. " The Balkan outskirts are Thrace.
We see that Trajan actually continues to implement Domitian's plan. Instead of the too freedom-loving Daco-Thracians, driven into slavery, he removes from the Balkans the more accommodating Thracians and veterans who served in the Roman legions, many of whom were also Thracians.
Thus, the territory of Dacia and its environs was settled from the following sources: 1. Deserters (of Thracian origin) from the Roman legions; 2. Veterans of Thracian (mostly) and Germanic origin from the Roman legions, who received land in Dacia; 3. Settlers (mostly Thracians) from the Balkan outskirts of Rome. 4. Local Dacian-Thracians who managed to escape their slave lot. 5. The territory north of Dacia was probably already partially inhabited by the Thracians and Etruscans, who had long since left the territory of Thrace and Rome (for example, the Thracians who were Spartacus' comrades-in-arms). Thus, we see a large influx of Thracians and related peoples into the territory of Dacia.
These groups of the population, in my opinion, were the main part of the population of the Chernyakhovsk culture area. As indicated, there were not only Thracians and Etruscans, there were probably representatives of the Germans and other peoples who served in the Roman legions. This explains the polyethnic nature of the Chernyakhov culture. The high level of Chernyakhov culture and its closeness to Roman culture is explained by the experience and skill of demobilized Roman veterans of Thracian (mostly) origin. As an example, we can recall the previously mentioned soldier millstones used in the Roman legions and found on the territory of the Chernyakhov culture.
Since the 1st and 2nd groups of the population were mainly men, the settlers from the Balkan outskirts of Rome were most likely women. Perhaps some of the settlers were families of veterans.
The population of the Chernyakhovsk culture provided the local Roman legions with agricultural products. In addition, to protect the Roman Empire from nomadic tribes, the population and legionnaires erected defensive ramparts ("trajan's ramparts"). For this, the Romans paid with money and goods, some of which in the form of treasures have survived to this day.
As noted earlier, the period of the greatest number of treasures on the territory of the Chernyakhovsk culture begins with the reign of Emperor Trajan. It was from this period that the rise of economic activity began on the territory of the Chernyakhovsk culture.
It is interesting that the name of Trajan quite often turns out to be associated with the Slavs and the ancestors of the Slavs. For example, the name "Trajan's Gate" denotes a passage in a mountain pass connecting Thrace and Dacia. Probably, the influx of the population from Thrace to Dacia was controlled through these gates. The name "Trayanovy Vali" designates defensive structures in the form of embankments, 3-6m high. Shafts are located on the territory of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. One of the versions of the origin of the ramparts suggests that they were created at the direction of the Roman emperor Trajan, to protect against nomads.
Trajan is mentioned four times in the poem "The Lay of Igor's Host". Until now, experts do not have a consensus about what meaning is put by the author in the fragments of the poem, where the name of Trajan is mentioned.
In the book "Another Word about Igor's Regiment" (by V.P. Timofeev, Moscow, Veche, 2007, p. 119), versions of the interpretation of fragments of the text are given, where the word Trayan is mentioned.
Fragment 1: "There were the parties of Troyan, the summers of Yaroslavl have passed, there were Olgova's pleats ..."
In the modern version it will sound like: "There were the Troyanov centuries, Yaroslav's summer passed, there were Olegov's regiments ...".
As you can see, the sequence of events coincides with the sequence of the reign of these historical figures who influenced the life of the Slavs. Indeed, first there was Trayan, then Yaroslav, then Oleg. The phrase "Troyanov's century" is controversial. How can Emperor Trajan live for centuries? But these words, in the light of the stated version, should be understood as the centuries that were defined by Troyan, that is, the centuries of the "name of Trajan" or the centuries that passed according to Trajan's plan. Although these transformations are real, the emperor Domitian began. The Troyan centuries lasted from 102 AD (the conquest of Dacia and the settlement of new territories by the Thracians) to 375 AD. (invasion of the Huns).
Fragment 2: "A resentment arose in the powers of Dazhbozh's grandson, entered the land of Troyan as a virgin ....".
I could not find an acceptable interpretation of the full meaning of the fragment. But the land of Troyanov is, most likely, the lands that Troyan handed over to the Thracians for settlement (Chernyakhovsk culture).
Fragment 3: "On the seventh century of Troyan, at the same time Vseslav the lot for the girl ... ..".
In the modern version it will sound like: "In the seventh century, Vseslav threw the lot by Troyanov ...". It goes on to say that Vseslav captured Kiev.
Academician B.A. Rybakov proposed the following interpretation of these words. The Troyan centuries, happy for the Slavs, ended in 375 AD with the invasion of the Huns. If we count about 7 centuries from this date, we get the date 1075. And Vseslav took the throne of Kiev in 1068, that is, indeed in the 7th century from the end of the Troyan centuries. This interpretation is consistent with my version of the origin of the Slavs.
Thus, it turned out that the ancestors of the Slavs were mainly Thracians and Daco-Thracians. Thracian settlers are soldiers of the auxiliary, and not only auxiliary, legions of the Roman army. It was they who founded the settlements of the Przhevorskaya and Chernyakhovskaya cultures. As a result of the invasion of the Huns and Christianization, the Thracians began to be called Slavs and the territory of their settlement was formed, shown in Fig. 2.
The emergence of the Romanian nation is also well explained by the presented version. According to linguists, the main dictionary of the Romanian language contains 3800 words of Slavic origin, 2600 words of Latin origin and several hundred words of Albanian origin. From this fact, it follows that the Romanians are the descendants of the Roman legionaries, mixed with the ancestors of the Slavs (Thracians) and the ancestors of the Albanians.
Taking into account the above reasoning, let us briefly consider once again the sequence of the transformation of the Thracians into Etruscans and Slavs.
In ancient times (13th century BC) on the Balkan Peninsula, the Thracians were neighbors of ancient Greece. They are noted by Homer in the poem "The Iliad" as participants in the Trojan War. They fought on the side of the Trojans.
In the 6th century BC. part of the Lydians (relatives of the Thracians) moved to the Apennine Peninsula. They came to be called Tyrrhenians and Etruscans. The settlers became neighbors and, in a sense, teachers of the Romans, since the first form of government (the royal period) was adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans. Some of the first kings of the Romans were Etruscans.
In the 2nd century BC, as a result of unsuccessful wars with Rome, part of the Etruscans moved to the territory of the Przewor culture.
In the 1st century BC. As a result of the uprising led by Spartacus, there is a massive movement of the Etruscans (Thracians) to the territory of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhov cultures.
2nd to 4th century AD Daco-Thracians lose the war with Rome and become its province. The Romans help the Daco-Thracians build defensive structures against the alleged invasion of the steppe peoples (Huns). This period can be considered the era of the Roman emperor Trajan. The Chernyakhov culture arises and develops.
In the 4th - 5th centuries A.D. there is an invasion of the Huns, the achievements of the Przeworsk and Chernyakhovsk cultures are destroyed. Moving away from the oppression of the Huns, the Thracians settled in a larger territory. Some of the Thracians adopt Christianity - become Slavs (word = the gospel, Slavic followers of the Christian faith), the Thracians who have not adopted Christianity are called antas (antes = anti = against, the adoption of Christianity is pagans).
In the 6th century A.D. Slavs Thracians are first mentioned in historical documents as Sklovena.
The history of the Slavs, starting from the 6th century, is confirmed by historical documents and archaeological finds. And, in general, it does not cause serious disagreement among historians.
Let's try to assess the degree of reliability of the resulting version of the origin of the Slavs. Obviously, of all historical versions, the most reliable one must be considered the one that explains the largest number of known historical facts. I will list the facts that the proposed version explains:
1. Explains the polyethnicity (multinationality) of the Chernyakhov culture. (The basis of the Chernyakhov culture was laid by Roman legionaries of various nationalities, mainly Thracians and Germans).
2. Explains the unusually rapid spread of the Slavs in Europe. (As a result of the adoption of Christianity, numerous Thracians were renamed into Slavs).
3. Explains the emergence of the ethnonym itself - "Slovens".
4. A version of the origin of the Goth people is proposed.
5. The origin of the Romanian people is explained.
6. Explains the origin and purpose of the "trajan shafts".
7. The connection between the name "Trajan" and the events described in the "Lay of Igor's Host" is explained.
Thus, the above evidence shows that the Thracians are indeed the ancestors of the Slavs, and this assumption, first put forward by the Soviet historian Derzhavin N.S. in 1944 is valid.

Thracians(Old Greek Θρᾳκός; lat. Thraci) - an ancient people who lived in the east of the Balkans and adjacent territories. They spoke the Thracian language, which most authors classify as Indo-European.

External appearance

The Greek philosopher Xenophanes describes the Thracians as being outwardly different from the Greeks due to red hair and blue eyes.

Origin

A number of researchers identify the ancestors of the Thracians with the bearers of the Sabatinovo or Belohrudov culture. Since the Thracians are Indo-Europeans, their ancestors could have ended up in the Balkans only after the defeat of the Tripoli culture (Tripolye-Cucuteni). In the II millennium BC. NS. isolated in the Carpathians from other Indo-Europeans and then migrated to the southern bank of the Danube.

According to the data of modern genetics, the Thracians were carriers of the "Aryan" haplogroup R1a.

Historical areas of the Thracians

Thracian tribes (about 200 ethnonyms) were very numerous and lived on the territory of the modern Balkan Peninsula and part of Asia Minor.

• Thrace (Bulgaria and European Turkey)
• Dacia (Romania)
• Bithynia (northwestern Anatolia)
• Misia (northwestern Anatolia)

The formation and spread of the Thracians to Asia Minor belongs to the era of the migrations of the peoples of the sea

By the 5th century BC, the Thracians inhabited the northeast of the Balkans and the lands adjacent to the Black Sea from the west. Herodotus in the 5th book called them the second (after the Indians) in number in the known world, and potentially the most powerful in military terms - if they stop internal squabbles. In that era, the Thracians were divided into a large number of warring tribes, Xenophon colorfully told about their internal wars in his "Anabasis". However, the Thracians managed to create fragile states for some time, such as the Odrysian kingdom, the largest in Europe in the 5th century. BC e., and in Roman times: Dacia, led by Burebista. After the invasion of the Celtic tribes in Thrace, the kingdom of the Gauls was formed with the capital in the city of Tilis.

Ultimately, most of the Thracians adopted the Greek (in the Thrace region) and Roman cultures (Moesia, Dacia, etc.) and, in fact, became subjects of these states.

However, small groups of Thracians existed even before the migration of the Slavs to the Balkans in the 6th century. n. This. it is possible that some of the Thracians were assimilated by the Slavs.

Archeology

During the 2000s, archaeologists have been excavating in central Bulgaria, in the area they called the "Alley of the Thracian Kings". On August 19, 2005, reports emerged that the capital of Thrace was discovered near the modern city of Karlovo, Bulgaria. The many smooth fragments of pottery (pieces of roof tiles and Greek vases) found during excavations speak of the wealth of the city's inhabitants. The Bulgarian Minister of Culture announced his support for further excavations.

Records about the Thracians

The records of the Thracians in the Iliad tell mainly about the Hellespont, and about the Kikona tribe, which fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, Book II). From the Thracians, to their neighbors, the Greeks passed on many mythical creatures, such as the god Dionysus, the princess Europa and the hero Orpheus.

In the seventh book of his stories, Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting the Persians:

The Thracians wore fox hats on their heads during the campaign. On the body, they wore tunics, and on top - variegated burnuses. On their legs and knees they wore reindeer skin wraps. They were armed with darts, slings and small daggers. After moving to Asia, this tribe received the name of the Bithynians, and before, according to their own words, they were called Strimonians, since they lived on Strimon. The Teukras and Mysians are said to have driven them from their habitats. The head of the Asian Thracians was Bassak, the son of Artaban.

In his fifth book, Herodotus describes the customs of the Thracian tribes:

The tribes living north of the Crusaders have the following custom. When someone from the tribe dies, his wives (and they all have many wives) start a heated argument (with the zealous participation of friends): which of them the deceased husband loved most. Having resolved the dispute, men and women shower their chosen spouse with praise and the closest relatives stab her at the grave and then bury her with her husband. The rest of the wives are deeply grieved that the choice fell not on them: after all, this is the greatest shame for them. The customs of other Thracians are as follows: they sell their children to a foreign land. They do not keep girls' chastity, allowing them to have intercourse with any man. On the contrary, the loyalty of married women is strictly observed and they buy themselves wives from their parents for a lot of money. A tattoo on the body is considered a sign of nobility. Whoever does not have it, he does not belong to the noble. A person who spends time in idleness is highly respected by them. On the contrary, they treat the farmer with the greatest contempt. They consider the life of a warrior and a robber to be the most honorable. These are their most remarkable customs. The Thracians honor only three gods: Ares, Dionysus and Artemis. And their kings (unlike the rest of the people) most of all the gods revere Hermes and swear only to him. According to them, they themselves descended from Hermes. The burial rites of the rich Thracians are as follows. The body of the deceased is exposed for three days. At the same time, sacrificial animals of all kinds are slaughtered and after the funeral cries they arrange a funeral feast. Then the body is burned or in some other way buried and, having poured a mound, they arrange various competitions. The highest awards are assigned for single combat, depending on the importance of the competition. These are the burial customs of the Thracians.

Josephus Flavius ​​claimed that the seventh son of Japheth, Tiras, was the ancestor of the Thracians. He also argued that the Thracians were originally called Tirasians, but then the Greeks renamed them.

Thracian tribes

Below is an incomplete list of the Thracian tribes:

• Bizalts
• Bitiny
• Kikons
• Ducky:
  • Apulites
  • Carps (people)
  • Kostoboki
  • Sukyi
• Edona
  • Siphons
• Flies
• Satras
• Grass
• Triballa
• Odomants

Not fully Thracian tribes:

• Agathirs (Scythian-Thracian tribe)
• Dardans (a tribe mixed of Thracians, Illyrians and possibly Peonians)

Famous Thracians

• Burebista is the king of Dacia, who subjugated a huge Thracian territory from modern Moravia in the west to the Bug River in the east, from the Carpathians in the north to Dionysopolis (modern Balchik) in the south.
• Decebalus is the king of Dacia, who won many battles with the Romans, but was defeated by Trajan's army.
• Orpheus - in ancient Greek mythology, a singer, musician who played the lyre. He played an important role in the religions of Greece and Bulgaria.
• Spartacus is a Roman gladiator who revolted in the Apennine Peninsula in 73-71 BC. His army, made up mostly of escaped gladiators and slaves, defeated several Roman legions in a war known as the Third Slave War or the Spartacus Rebellion.

Literature

• Danov H. M. Ancient Trakia. - Sofia: 1968.
• Zlatkovskaya T. D. The emergence of the state among the Thracians (VII-V centuries BC). - M .: 1971.
• Thracian art and culture of the Bulgarian lands. Exhibition catalog. - M .: 1974.
• Tsoncheva M. Artistic heritage in Trakiiskite zemi. - Sofia: 1971.
• Detschew D. Die Thrakischen Sprachreste. - W .: 1957.
• Wiesner J. Die Thraker. - Stuttg .: 1963.
• Bulgarian Academy of Sciences History of Bulgaria, volume 1. - Sofia: 1979.

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Thracians and Getae, who are the Thracians
Indo-Europeans

Indo-European languages Anatolian Albanian
Armenian Baltic Venetian
Germanic Illyrian
Aryan: Nuristani, Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Dardic
Italian (Romanesque)
Celtic Paleo-Balkan
Slavic Tocharian

dead language groups are italicized

Indo-Europeans Albanians Armenians Balts
Venets Germans Greeks
Illyrians Iranians Indo-Aryans
Italics (Romance) Celts
Cimmerians Slavs Tochars
Hetty italic marks nowadays non-existent communities Proto-Indo-Europeans Language Ancestral home Religion
Indo-European Studies
p o p

Thracians(ancient Greek Θρᾳκός; Latin Thraci) - an ancient people who lived in the east of the Balkans and adjacent territories. They spoke in Thracian, which is classified as Indo-European.

• 1 Appearance
• 2 Origin
• 3 Historical areas of the Thracians
• 4 History
• 5 Archeology
• 6 Records about the Thracians
• 7 Thracian tribes
• 8 Notable Thracians
• 9 Notes
• 10 Literature
• 11 References

External appearance

Thracian king

The Greek philosopher Xenophanes describes the Thracians as being outwardly different from the Greeks due to their blond hair and blue eyes.

All Ethiopians think of gods as black and snub-nosed, Thracians think with their blue-eyed and fair-haired ...

- (Translated by F.F.Zelinsky)

However, anthropologists believe that the Thracians still had the Mediterranean type with a slight Dinaric admixture, possibly with light pigmentation, i.e. in the mass they were pontids. Also, the external originality of the Moldovans, Romanians and Bulgarians is determined by the Thracian substrate.

Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting the Persians:

The Thracians wore fox hats on their heads during the campaign. On the body, they wore tunics, and on top - variegated burnuses. On their legs and knees they wore reindeer skin wraps. They were armed with darts, slings and small daggers (History, VII, 75)

The Thracians let go of the mustache and beard, and preferred to collect the hair on the head on the crown.

Origin

A number of researchers identify the ancestors of the Thracians with the bearers of the Sabatinovo or Belohrudov culture.

According to the data of modern genetics, after the resettlement from the Carpathians to the Balkan Peninsula, the Indo-Europeans belonging to the R1a haplogroup assimilated with the local Paleo-Balkan tribes of the I2a haplogroup, as a result of which the Thracian peoples known to us from written sources (in which the R1a haplogroup dominated) with a small admixture at the same time, the new Thracian language was formed on the basis of the language of the conquerors, that is, on the Indo-European basis, having absorbed some local features.

Historical areas of the Thracians

Thracian tribes (about 200 ethnonyms) were very numerous and lived on the territory of the modern Balkan Peninsula and part of Asia Minor.

• Thrace (Bulgaria and European Turkey)
• Dacia (Romania)
• Bithynia (northwestern Anatolia)
• Misia (northwestern Anatolia)

History

Main article: Ancient Thrace Thracian artifacts

The formation and spread of the Thracians to Asia Minor belongs to the era of the migrations of the peoples of the sea. Homer already places the Thracians on the banks of the Hellespont (Iliad, II, 845).

By the 5th century BC, the Thracians inhabited the northeast of the Balkans and the lands adjacent to the Black Sea from the west. Herodotus in the 5th book called them the second (after the Indians) in number in the known world, and potentially the most powerful in military terms - if they stop internal squabbles. That era, the Thracians were divided into a large number of warring tribes, Xenophon colorfully told about their internal wars in his "Anabasis". However, the Thracians managed to create fragile states for some time, such as the Odrysian kingdom, the largest in Europe in the 5th century. BC e., and in Roman times - Dacia, led by Burebista. After the invasion of the Celtic tribes in Thrace, the kingdom of the Gauls was formed with the capital in the city of Tilis.

Ultimately, most of the Thracians adopted the Greek (in the Thrace region) and Roman cultures (Moesia, Dacia, etc.) and, in fact, became subjects of these states.

However, small groups of Thracians existed even before the migration of the Slavs to the Balkans in the 6th century. n. This. it is possible that some of the Thracians were assimilated by the Slavs.

Archeology

During the 2000s, archaeologists have been excavating in central Bulgaria, in an area they called the "Valley of the Thracian Kings". On August 19, 2005, reports emerged that the capital of Thrace was discovered near the modern city of Karlovo, Bulgaria. The many smooth fragments of pottery (pieces of roof tiles and Greek vases) found during excavations speak of the wealth of the city's inhabitants. The Bulgarian Minister of Culture announced his support for further excavations.

Records about the Thracians

See also: Thracian religion

The records of the Thracians in the Iliad tell mainly about the Hellespont, and about the Kikona tribe, which fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, Book II). From the Thracians, to their neighbors, the Greeks passed on many mythical creatures, such as the god Dionysus, the princess Europa and the hero Orpheus.

In his fifth book, Herodotus describes the customs of the Thracian tribes:

The tribes living north of the Crusaders have the following custom. When someone from the tribe dies, his wives (and they all have many wives) start a heated argument (with the zealous participation of friends): which of them the deceased husband loved most. Having resolved the dispute, men and women shower their chosen spouse with praise and the closest relatives stab her at the grave and then bury her with her husband. The rest of the wives grieve very much that the choice fell on them: after all, this is the greatest shame for them.

The customs of other Thracians are as follows: they sell their children to a foreign land. They do not keep girls' chastity, allowing them to have intercourse with any man. On the contrary, the loyalty of married women is strictly observed and they buy themselves wives from their parents for a lot of money. A tattoo on the body is considered a sign of nobility. Whoever does not have it, he does not belong to the noble. A person who spends time in idleness is highly respected by them. On the contrary, they treat the farmer with the greatest contempt. They consider the life of a warrior and a robber to be the most honorable. These are their most remarkable customs.

The Thracians honor only three gods: Ares, Dionysus and Artemis. And their kings (unlike the rest of the people) most of all the gods revere Hermes and swear only to him. According to them, they themselves descended from Hermes.

The burial rites of the rich Thracians are as follows. The body of the deceased is exposed for three days. At the same time, sacrificial animals of all kinds are slaughtered and after the funeral cries they arrange a funeral feast. Then the body is burned or in some other way buried and, having poured a mound, they arrange various competitions. The highest awards are assigned for single combat, depending on the importance of the competition. These are the burial customs of the Thracians.

Josephus Flavius ​​claimed that the seventh son of Japheth, Tiras, was the ancestor of the Thracians. He also argued that the Thracians were originally called Tirasians, but then the Greeks renamed them.

Thracian tribes

Below is an incomplete list of the Thracian tribes (English) Russian:

• Bessa
• Bizalts
• Bitiny
• Getae (Herodotus, History 4:93)
• Ducky:
  • Apulites
  • Carps (people)
  • Kostoboki
  • Sukyi
• Kikons
• Flies
• Nipsei (Herodotus, History 4:93)
• Odomants
• Odris
  • Siphons
• Pierians (pierids)
• Satras
• Skyrmiades (Herodotus, History 4:93)
• Grass
• Triballa
• Edona

Not fully Thracian tribes:

• Agathirs (Scythian-Thracian tribe)
• Dardanians (a tribe mixed of Thracians, Illyrians and possibly Peonians)

Famous Thracians

• Burebista is the king of Dacia, who subjugated a huge Thracian territory from modern Moravia in the west to the Bug River in the east, from the Carpathians in the north to Dionysopolis (modern Balchik) in the south.
• Decebalus is the king of Dacia, who won many battles with the Romans, but was defeated by Trajan's army.
• Orpheus - in ancient Greek mythology, a singer, musician who played the lyre. He played an important role in the religions of Greece and Bulgaria.
• Spartacus is a Roman gladiator who revolted in the Apennine Peninsula in 73-71 BC. His army, made up mostly of escaped gladiators and slaves, defeated several Roman legions in a war known as the Third Slave War or the Spartacus Rebellion.
• Maximinus I Thracian - Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Thracian Roman emperor from March 20, 235 to March 22, 238, the first "soldier's emperor".

Notes (edit)

1. N. Deratani, N. Timofeeva. Reader on ancient literature, vol. I. Greek literature. M.: State. educational ped. publishing house of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, 1958.
2. Which antrum type originally corresponds to: Slavs, Balts, Illyro-Pelasgians, Celts, Germans, Greeks, Italo-Falisks, Thracians, Hittites-Luwians, Linguistic Tochars, Armenian-Phrygians, Iranians, Indo-Aryans, Dardas and Nuristanis
3. Moldovans and the Transnistrian nation
4. Beard and hair
5. Haplogroup I2
6. Slavs and substrate | Personal site of the Belarusian historian Vyacheslav Nosevich
7. Haplogroup I2 (Y-DNA) / Haplogroups / Main page / Anthropological and genetic classifications
8. Ethnogenesis of Moldovans
9. About the resource - Slavic culture
10. Romance group

Literature

• Danov H. M. Drevna Trakia. - Sofia, 1968.
• Zlatkovskaya T. D. The emergence of the state among the Thracians (VII-V centuries BC). - M., 1971.
• Thracian art and culture of the Bulgarian lands. Exhibition catalog. - M., 1974.
• Tsoncheva M. Artistic heritage in Trakiiskite zemi. - Sofia, 1971.
• Detschew D. Die Thrakischen Sprachreste. - W., 1957.
• Wiesner J. Die Thraker. - Stuttg., 1963.
• Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. History of Bulgaria, volume 1. - Sofia, 1979.

Links

• Thracians // Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
• Thracian burial complexes.

Trojan War
Greeks	Automedont Agamemnon Akamanth Antilochus Achilles Ajax Great Ajax Lesser Hercules Demophon Diomedes Tidides Euripylus Idomeneo Calchas Machaon Medon Menelaus Neoptolemus Nestor Odysseus Palamed Patroclus Podalirius Protecilaius Sinon Stentor Teukr Tersamon Epeytelemus Ferstetenius
Gods on the side of the Greeks	Athena Hera Poseidon Hephaestus Hermes Thetis
Allies of the Greeks	Achaeans Abanta Arcadians Athenians Argives Tiryns Tiryns Ithans Corinthians Cretans Lapiths Mycenaeans Myrmidonians Pilos Rhodians Salamians Spartans Aeginets
Trojans	Andromache Antenor Anchis Astianact Gehlen Hector Hecuba Cassandra Kikn Laocoont Memnon Paris Polydor Priam Troilus Pandar Aeneas
Gods on the side of the Trojans	Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Scamander
Allies of the Trojans	Amazons Armenians Dardans Lydians Lycians Miletans Pelasgians Tevkras Halibs Phrygians Ethiopians
Additionally	Troy Heinrich Schliemann "The Myth of Troy" Trojan language Trojan letter Trojan horse

ancient Thracians, who are the Thracians, Thracians, Thracians and Getae

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